Savior's Seeker
by jumpingmanatee
Summary: Holly Lillian Potter is the fraternal twin of Harry Potter. While Harry looks like James Potter with his mother's eyes, Holly looks precisely like Lily. When Voldemort failed to kill the twins on October 31st, he gave both babies scars. Harry's scar shaped like a lightning bolt, while Holly's is shaped like a crescent moon. Read the full summary inside. I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.
1. Quidditch World Cup

**Holly Lillian Potter is the fraternal twin of Harry Potter. While Harry looks like James Potter with his mother's eyes, Holly looks precisely like Lily. When Voldemort failed to kill the twins on October 31st, he gave both babies scars. Harry's scar spade like a lightning bolt, while Holly's is shaped like a crescent moon.**

**The twins have been through everything together. From the abuse, they suffered at the hands of the Dursleys to their adventures at Hogwarts. Now, in their fourth year, the twins will have to survive being entered in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. They will have to face ridicule, mistrust, and betrayal. But along the way, Holly finds comfort in a certain Bulgarian Seeker, maybe even love. Will their relationship last through all the trials and tribulations that Holly faces? Read and find out.**

An older man is wandering up to a house carrying a lit torch. He opens the front door, inside is just as dark. He begins climbing the stairs; we hear whispers and hushed voices coming from upstairs. The older man waits outside the room where the conversation is taking place and listens on.

"Oh no no, no, my Lord Voldemort. I only meant... perhaps if we were to do it without the boy and the girl..." Wormtail asks.

"NO! The boy and the girl are everything; it cannot be done without them, and it WILL be done exactly as I say," Said a raspy voice of a person sitting in a chair.

At that moment, another man stepped closer to the chair, "I will not disappoint you, my lord."

"Good. First, gather our old comrades. Send them a sign."

A snake slithers past the older man and into the room and begins to hiss at the figure in the chair.

"Nagini tells me the old caretaker is standing outside the door."

Wormtail stands in the doorway and looks at the older man. The older man looks terrified.

"Step aside so I can give our guest a proper greeting. Avada Kedavra!"

Holly wakes up in a flash of panic, her green eyes full of fear. The scar, in the shape of a crescent moon, burning beneath her fingers.

Holly Lilian Potter, Harry Potter's twin sister, looks around a little disoriented at first until she remembers that she's at the Burrow. She and Harry had arrived the night before and were set to head out to the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasleys that morning. Holly looked out the window; she noticed that the sun wasn't up yet, but she knew she would never be able to go back to sleep.

Slowly, Holly got up as to not disturb her fox familiar. Her Arctic Fox, Archimedes. The fox looked up at her when he felt the bed shift then buried himself under the covers. Holly smiled then quietly made her way to the bathroom to get dressed. Holly made her way downstairs, where Mrs. Weasley has already started breakfast.

"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley."

"Good morning, dear. It seems you're the first one up. Care for a cup of tea?"

"That would be lovely."

With the wave of her wand, Mrs. Weasley prepares a cup of tea for Holly. The young woman sat down at the kitchen table and drank her tea. She watched Mrs. Weasley bustled around the kitchen, making breakfast.

"Would you like some help, Mrs. Weasley?"

Mrs. Weasley turned and smiled at Holly, "No, thank you, dear, I have everything under control," Molly tells her then sets a plate of eggs and sausage in front of Holly.

"Eat up, dear, you'll need to hurry. The others will be down soon; then, you'll be heading out."

Holly nods and begins to eat her breakfast. A little while later, Ginny comes downstairs, looking a bit tired. She greets her mother then plops down in the chair next to Holly. While Ginny and Holly are eating their breakfast, the fireplace roars to life, and Hermione steps out.

"Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning, Hermione. Care for some breakfast?"

"Yes, please, Mrs. Weasley."

Holly gets up and hugs her best friend, "Good morning, Mione."

"Good morning, Holly, are the boys up yet?"

"No, I tried to wake them, but Ron growled at me," Ginny said.

Hermione sighs, "Leave it to me."

Hermione marches upstairs just as Fred and George are making their way down, "What's got her knickers in a twist?" George asks.

"Harry and Ron aren't up yet; she went to go wake them," Ginny explains.

The twins nod. They sit down across from Holly and begin eating their breakfast. George reaches across the table and steals a sausage from Holly.

"Oi, you have your food."

George winks and takes a bite of the sausage.

A little while later, Harry and Ron come stumbling down the stairs with Hermione following behind them. Harry takes a seat next to his sister, Mrs. Weasley places a plate of food in front of Harry and Ron. Harry and Holly eat their breakfast silence while the others are discussing the seeing the Irish against the Bulgarians. Ron keeps going on and on about Viktor Krum, Hermione rolls her eyes.

Hermione looks at her best friend and frowns, "Holly, are you alright?"

"Yeah, just a little tired, bad dream."

Harry's head snaps up; he stares at his sister, who gives him a meaningful look. 'They must have had the same dream.' Hermione thought.

Once everyone has had breakfast, they head out following Mr. Weasley through the woods. They meet up with another wizard named Amos Diggory and his son Cedric. Mr. Weasley introduces everyone, and they head out again this time making their way up a hill.

"That's it, sir, just over there," Arthur says as he reaches the top of the hill.

"Shall we? We don't want to be late," Amos tells everyone.

Everyone starts gathering around an old boot that is at the top of the hill. Harry and Holly look at each other confused.

"Why are they all standing around that manky old boot?" Harry asks.

Fred and George explain to Harry and Holly that it's a portkey. Everyone is in a circle touching the boot, "What's a portkey," Holly asks.

"Time to go, ready? After three one, two…" Mr. Diggory starts counting down.

"Harry, Holly!"

Harry and Holly rush forward and touch the boot.

"Three!"

With that, there's a white flash, and suddenly they're all flying through the air — everyone cheers.

Suddenly Mr. Weasley yells for everyone to let go. All the children scream and let go of the boot. There's a resounding thud as everyone hits the ground. Holly groans as she rolls over onto her back. Harry stands up and helps his sister stand. They walk across the field, and we see there's a massive crowd gathered and cheering, tents are set up all over.

"Well, kids, welcome to the Quidditch World Cup!" Arthur tells everyone.

They walk into the crowd, taking in the sights. Music is playing, and people fly about overhead on brooms. They approach a small tent. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Diggory say their goodbyes then Mr. Weasley ushers everyone into the tent.

"Home sweet home."

They enter the tent and find that it's much larger on the inside. There are several rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a dining area. Mr. Weasley tells the girls to pick out a bunk and unpack while Harry and Holly stand there, staring around in awe.

"I love magic," They say at the same time.

Later on, that night, Harry, Holly, Hermione, and the Weasleys make their way up into the stands at the massive stadium where the Quidditch World Cup is being held. They continue to climb higher and higher into the stands.

"Blimey Dad, how far up ARE we?"

Lucius Malfoy and Draco are walking below them.

"Well, put it this way, if it rains you'll be the first to know," Lucius says as he looks up at the Weasleys.

"Father and I are in the minister's box, by personal invitation of Cornelius Fudge himself," Draco tells them.

"Don't boast Draco. There's no need with these people."

As Harry and Holly are about to walk away, Lucius catches Harry's foot with his cane, "Do enjoy yourself, won't you? While you can," He tells the twins with a sneer.

Holly pulls Harry along as they follow Mr. Weasley to their seats.

The ceremony begins, and balloons and fireworks go off.

"Come on," Yells George.

"It's the Irish!" Fred yells.

Five green and white figures fly through the air on their brooms, leaving a colored trail behind them. A glittering leprechaun appears in the sky and starts dancing. Everyone is excited.

"Here come the Bulgarians!"

Five red figures this time, one of them performs a stunt on his broom. One of them appears on the large screen. The crowd begins to chant 'Krum, Krum, Krum.' Viktor waves at the crowd.

Later that night, the twins were celebrating the Irish's victory over Bulgaria even though Viktor had caught the snitch. Ron began to wax poetically about Viktor's skills causing Fred, George, and Harry to make fun of him. While they were laughing at Ron, the twins could hear noises coming from outside the tent.

"Sounds like the Irish have got their pride on," Fred comments

"Stop! Stop it. It's not the Irish. We've gotta get out of here. Now," Arthur urgently tells everyone.

Exiting the tent, there's nothing but chaos going on. Some figures in pointed hoods carrying flaming torches are walking across the campsite, chanting ominous noises. The crowd is panicked and rushing all over.

"Get back to the portkey everybody, and stick together. Fred, George... Ginny is your responsibility." Arthur orders.

Everyone rushes towards the portkey, but people are screaming and pushing each other, making it hard for the group to stay together. Hermione and Holly are holding hands as they try to follow Fred and George. Suddenly, Holly is roughly shoved to the ground losing sight of the others.

"Holly!" Hermione screams as she loses grip of her sister's, in all but blood, hand.

Holly climbs to her feet and looks around, "Hermione, Harry!" She screams, looking around Holly sees that she's completely alone.

Without hesitation, she whips her wand out and starts walking towards the hill where the portkey is. Holly hears a noise behind her and whirls around. To her horror, two masked figures are standing behind her. Holly dives out of the way as the two figures send curses her way. Knowing she doesn't have a chance against them, Holly starts running; the two characters give chase. Curses and hexes go flying past her head. Holly continues to run until she finds herself cornered. She turns to face her attackers when suddenly she's lifted off the ground.

Holly screams as someone has just hoisted her up onto a broom, "Don't vorry, I am here to help." A masculine voice from behind her says.

Holly turns around; she can barely make out the face of Viktor Krum, who is easily avoiding curses that are being sent by the masked figures once they have reached a safe distance, Viktor lands and helps Holly off his broom. Holly stumbles and reaches for her scar.

"Are you alvight, you are not hurt?" Viktor asks.

"I'm okay, thank you for saving me," Holly says, smiling shyly.

"You're velcome, but I must be going, I cannot be seen. Vill you be alvight to find your family?"

"Yes, I'll be fine."

"Good. Until ve meet again, malŭk. (Little one.)"

With that, Viktor mounted his broom and flew off. Holly watched him fly off into the night. She couldn't believe that Viktor Krum had saved her. Holly was so shocked she didn't hear the others calling her name.

Holly suddenly felt someone crash into her, "Holly, are you alright? Are you hurt," Harry said as he squeezed the life out of his twin.

"Harry, can't breathe," Holly squeaked out, making Harry let go of her.

By this time, Hermione and Ron have shown up as well along with Mr. Weasley, "Holly, are you alright, what happened?" Hermione asks.

Holly explains how she was saved from two hooded figures that were chasing her, but she didn't tell the others who had saved her. That was something she wanted to keep private.

"Who were those people," Holly asked.

"Death Eaters, followers of You Know Who. One of them left that dark mark in the sky," Hermione tells Holly.

Holly briefly looks at Harry, who nods, letting her know that he too felt a burning in his scar. Harry puts his arm around his twin as they follow Mr. Weasley back to the portkey and head back to the Burrow.


	2. Foreign Guests

*_WORDS IN ITALICS IS BULGARIAN*_

On the train to Hogwarts, Harry, Holly, Hermione, and Ron sat in their carriage talking about what had happened at the World Cup, Archimedes and Crookshanks curled around each other sleeping next to Holly.

"This is horrible; how can the ministry not know who conjured it. Isn't there any security or?" Hermione asks.

"Loads, according to Dad, that's what worried them so much. Happened right under their noses." Ron tells her.

Hermione notices the twins rub their scars, though Holly tries to be more discreet about it.

"It's hurting again, isn't it, your scars?" Hermione asks.

"It's fine," The twins answer.

"You know Sirius and Remus will want to hear about this. What you saw at the world cup, how the Death Eaters chased you, and the dreams."

The twins look at each other and agree that they need to write their godfathers.

Holly writes the letter to Sirius and Remus, the Harry gives the message to Hedwig and lets her out the window. A few hours later, they all change into their robes and arrive at Hogsmead. Getting off the train, Holly looks up at the castle and sighs. Harry puts his arm around his sister.

"Feels like coming home, doesn't it, Holly?"

"Yes, it does."

The quartet shares a carriage with Neville, Dean, and Seamus. They all talk about how their summer went and how they think this year was going to go. The group arrive at the castle and make their way into the Great Hall and takes their seats at the Gryffindor table.

Outside, a flying carriage is seen being pulled by four enormous horses coming in for a landing at Hogwarts, Hagrid is directing them. He barely has enough time to dive out of the way as the carriage lands. In the Black Lake, a large ship emerges from under the water and approaches too.

Inside the Great Hall, Professor Dumbledore addresses the students, "Now we're all settled in and sorted, I'd like to make an announcement. This castle will not only be your home this year but home to some exceptional guests as well. You see, Hogwarts has been chosen.."

Filch comes running up the aisle toward Dumbledore and whispers something in his ear then leaves.

"So Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event. The Tri-Wizard Tournament. Now for those of you who do not know, the Tri-Wizard Tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school, a single contestant is selected to compete. Now let me be clear; if chosen, you stand alone. And trust me when I say these contests are not for the faint-hearted, but more of that later. For now, please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of magic and their headmistress Madame Maxime."

A group of girls dressed in blue dance up the aisle and release butterflies into the air, they bow, and everyone applauds, especially the boys. Holly and Hermione look at each other and roll their eyes.

"Blimey, that's one big woman," Seamus says.

The headmistress makes her way towards Dumbledore; he takes her hand and kisses it.

"And now, our friends from the north, please greet the proud sons of Durmstrang and the high master Igor Karkaroff."

A series of older boys walk up the aisle brandishing bo staffs, twirling them around and periodically stomping them into the ground with a spark effect.

Ron starts freaking out when he spots Viktor Krum, "Blimey, it's him, Viktor Krum!"

When the boys reach the front of the Great Hall, one of them blows fire in the shape of a Phoenix.

The headmaster greets Professor Dumbledore warmly, "Albus!"

"Igor." The two embrace.

Now that the other schools have joined them, the feast begins. The ladies of Beauxbaton sit at the Ravenclaw table while Durmstrang sits with at the Slytherin table. A variety of different dishes are served that Harry and Holly have never seen before, obviously from the other school's home countries to make them feel more at home. After dinner, Professor Dumbledore goes on with his announcement.

"Your attention, please! I would like to say a few words. Eternal glory that is what awaits the student who wins the Tri-Wizard Tournament. But to do this that students must survive three tasks. Three extremely dangerous tasks."

The Weasley twins are excited at the prospect of entering the tournament.

"For this reason, the ministry has seen fit to impose a new rule. To explain all this, we have the head of the department of international magic cooperation Mister Bartimus Crouch."

Thunder roars overhead, rain begins leaking through the roof and screams break out. A strange man stands in the doorway, he casts some magic upwards and seals the roof. Peace is restored. Ron comment that it's Mad-Eye Moody that has just come into the Great Hall.

"Alastor Moody, the Auror?" Hermione asks.

Harry and Holly look at Ron, confused.

"He was a Dark Wizard catcher. Half the cells in Azkaban are full thanks to him. He's supposed to be mad as a hatter though these days."

Mad-Eye enters the room, his magical eye swirling around, focusing on Harry and Holly. The ex-Auror makes his way up to Professor Dumbledore and shakes his hand.

"My old friend, thank you for coming."

Moody nods and takes his seat; he then takes a drink from a flask he's carrying.

After Moody takes a seat, Bartimus Crouch stands up, "After much deliberation, the ministry has concluded that for their safety, no student under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to put forth their names for the Tri-Wizard Tournament. This decision is final."

There's an uproar among the stupids; they begin booing. Fred and George were among the loudest.

"Silence!" Professor Dumbledore bellows.

Dumbledore casts magic over a box that melds into a goblet containing a blue flame.

"The goblet of fire. Anyone wishing to submit themselves for the tournament merely writes their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour on Thursday night. Do not do so lightly; if chosen, there's no turning back. As from this moment, the Tri-Wizard Tournament has begun."

When the students were dismissed to go back to their dorms, Viktor quickly stood up along with his friends. He didn't want to linger in the Great Hall as he was already being stared at by several giggling girls. But when he stood up, Viktor noticed a group of red-haired students sitting at the Gryffindor table. His eyes widened when he saw one redhead in particular. It was the girl Viktor had saved at the World Quidditch Cup. Viktor thought that he would never see her again, and that thought had disappointed him. Now she was there at Hogwarts.

Viktor was going to make his way over to her table when his headmaster came over to him and ordered him and his friends to go back to the ship. Viktor glared at Igor but did as he was told, tomorrow he would talk to the red-haired girl.

As they walked back to the ship, Viktor's friend and roommate Aleksandur put his hand on Viktor's shoulder, *_What's the matter, Viktor, you look like you've seen a ghost.*_

_*Do you remember me telling you about the girl I saved at the Quidditch World Cup?*_

_*Da, the little red-hair girl, what about her?*_

_*She's here at Hogwarts. She was sitting at the Gryffindor table.*_

Aleksandur smiled, *_Perhaps you will get to talk with her.*_

_*Perhaps I will.*_

With that, Aleksandur put his arm around his friend's shoulder, and the boarded their ship.


	3. We Meet Again

The next day, Harry, Holly, Hermione, and Ron went to Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Professor Moody.

"Alastor Moody. Ministry malcontent. And your new defense against the dark arts teacher. I'm here because Dumbledore asked me, end of story, goodbye, the end. Any questions? When it comes to the dark arts, I believe in a practical approach. But first, which of you can tell me how many unforgivable curses there are?"

"Three, sir," Hermione answers.

"And they are so named?"

"Because they are unforgivable. Use of any one of those curses will..." Holly says.

"Will earn you a one-way ticket to Azkaban. Correct. Now the ministry says you're too young to see what these curses do. I say different! You need to know what you're up against; you need to be prepared, you need to find somewhere else to put your chewing gum other than the underside of your desk, Mr. Finnigan!"

"Aw no way, the old codger can see out the back of his head."

"And hear across classrooms!"

After that, Professor Moody asks for volunteers to name the unforgivable curses. He then begins to demonstrate them much to the horror of the entire class. When Moody demonstrates the killing curse, the class is silent.

"The killing curse. Only two people have been known to have survived it. And they're sitting in this room."

He approaches the twin's desk and takes a drink from his flask.

As they left class, Ron kept babbling about how brilliant Moody was while the twins and Hermione were troubled by the whole ordeal. Seeing the flash of green light triggered the memory of their mother being hit with the killing curse when Harry and Holly were babies. Unconsciously, Holly reached up and rubbed the crescent moon shape scare on her forehead. Harry looked at his sister and took her hand, squeezing it.

"There's a reason those curses are unforgivable, and to perform them in a classroom. I mean, did you see Neville's face," Hermione said as they walked down the stairs.

They came across Neville, who was staring out the window, "Neville, are you alright?" Holly asks, putting her hand on his shoulder.

At that moment, Professor Moody comes stomping down the stairs, "Son, are you alright?"

Neville nods, absentmindedly.

"Come on; we'll have a cup of tea. I want to show you something," And with that, Moody leads Neville back to his office.

Holly and Harry make their way towards the Great Hall with the others. They sit down at the Gryffindor table and serve themselves lunch. But Holly can't eat, she too disturbed by what happened in DADA. She sits there next to Hermione and picks at her food.

"Holly, you need to eat," Hermione tells her.

"I'm not hungry."

"What's the matter with you," Ron asks with his mouth full of food.

Hermione and Holly grimace, "Swallow your food before you speak, Ronald." Hermione tells him.

Holly shakes her head, "It's nothing, I'll see you guys later. I'm going back to the Common Room."

Harry, Hermione, and Ron watch as Holly gets up and leaves the Great Hall. Harry's brow furrows, he's about to get up and go after his twin when Hermione catches his arm.

"Leave her, Harry. Holly needs some alone time," Hermione tells him.

Harry looks at his best friend and nods. He doesn't like the thought of his twin being upset, but maybe Hermione was right. Across the room at the Slytherin table, Viktor watches as Holly gets up and leaves the Great Hall. He can tell from where he's sitting that she's upset about something, and it concerns him. Viktor gets up and discreetly makes his way out of the room. As he searches for Holly, Viktor sees through the window heading towards the Quidditch pitch with a broom in her hand.

Viktor runs down to the ship to get his broom and follows Holly towards the Quidditch pitch. When he gets there, Viktor finds Holly flying through the air, doing corkscrews and flips on her broom Her red hair flying wildly in the wind. He watches as she does a Chelmondiston Charge, standing on her broom and leaping over a pretend opponent and landing back on her broom.

'She's a Chaser,' Viktor thinks.

But to his surprise, Holly, perform his signature move the Wronski Feint. Viktor continues to watch Holly fly in fascination; He almost cried out when he watched Holly make a sharp dive straight towards the Quidditch pitch. At the last minute, Holly pulls up, she then stands up on her broom and does a backflip off, landing lightly on her feet.

All the years of Aunt Petunia forcing her to take gymnastics and ballet have paid off, giving Holly perfect balance. Though Holly was treated just as severely as Harry, their Aunt Petunia tried to live vicariously through Holly and had her work until exhaustion to be the perfect gymnast and ballerina. Holly stands there, catching her breath when she suddenly hears someone applaud. She turns around and for the first time notices Viktor Krum standing there watching her.

"That vos amazing. How did you learn to fly like dat?" Viktor asked.

Holly blushes and rubs the back of her neck, "Um, just practicing. I'm a reserve Seeker and Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

Viktor's eyes widen, "Only a reserve? Vith talent like dat, you should be playing every game."

Holly blushes harder, "I'm not that good."

"Da you are," Viktor says as he walks closer to Holly, "Ver are my manners, I am Viktor Krum. You are the girl I saved at the Quidditch Vorld Cup, Da?"

"Um, yeah, I am. I'm Holly Potter," She says and puts her hand out to shake Viktor's hand.

Viktor is startled that this is the famous Potter twin. His eyes flick up to her forehead to see the renowned crescent moon scar, but they quickly go back to Holly's emerald eyes. Viktor smiles at her, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles. It amuses him to see Holly's eyes widen and blush again.

"It is very nice to meet you, Holly."

"It's nice to meet you too, Viktor."

"Tell me, vhy are you flying alone?"

Holly frowns, "I was a little upset and needed to clear my head. Flying makes me feel better."

Viktor's brow furrows, "Vhat has you so upset?"

"It's nothing, really. Something happened in Defence Against the Dark Arts class that upset me."

"Vhat?"

Holly stared into Viktor's brown eyes, and then she started to tear up. She suddenly felt the need to tell someone how she was feeling, "It was horrible; Professor Moody performed the Unforgivable curses in class, even the Killing Curse. And all I could think of was how that curse killed my parents." Holly tells Viktor as tears begin to run down her cheeks.

She suddenly found herself in Viktor's strong embrace. He held her tightly as she cried into his shoulder, "Shh, it is alright, Little One. You haff every right to be upset. He should not haff shown you such tings," Viktor whispers in Holly's ear.

Holly hiccoughed and pulled away from Viktor. He looked into her sad green eyes, and his heart clenched. Viktor reached up and wiped he tears from her eyes. Holly gave him a sad smile, "Thank you, Viktor, I'm sorry I cried all over you."

Viktor smiles, "It is nothing, Holly. I am glad I could help in some vay. Now, vould you like to fly with me for a vhile?"

Holly smiled, "I'd love to, but I have to get back to the castle for my next class."

"Ah, vell, perhaps another time then, da?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," Holly said, then she walked over and picked up her firebolt, "Well, I'll see you later, Viktor."

Viktor reached out and took Holly's hand; he kissed her knuckles again, "I hope so, Holly."

Holly blushed then ran back to the castle. Viktor stood there and watched Holly. He sighed and mounted his broom to take a few laps around the Quidditch pitch.

When Holly reached the Common Room, she found Harry, Hermione, and Ron waiting for her, "Where have you been?" Hermione asked.

Harry noticed that Holly had her broom, and he frowned. Harry knew that Holly only flew when she was upset about something. He walked over to his sister and took her hand, "Are you okay, Hol?"

"I'm fine, Harry; I only need to clear my head. Let me go put up my broom, and we can go to class."

Holly ran upstairs and put her broom away. She grabbed her bag, patted Archimedes on the head, then ran back downstairs, "Okay, let's get to class before we're late."

Hermione looked at her best friend, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I'm fine, Hermione, I promise. Let's go to class."

And so the quartet left for their next class, but Holly couldn't get the thought of Viktor out of her head. She smiled at thinking of the Bulgarian Seeker.


	4. Tri-Wizard Champions

The days went by, and people began to enter their names in the Goblet of Fire. Holly and the others were sitting in the Great Hall when Cedric Diggory came in and put his name in the Goblet; everyone cheered for him.

"Eternal glory, be brilliant, wouldn't it? In three years from now, we'll be old enough to be chosen," Ron says.

Harry and Holly look at each other, "Yeah, well, rather you and us," Holly says, Harry nods.

A little while later, the Weasley twins come into the Great Hall, cheering, "Thank you, thank you, well lads we've done it," George says.

"Cooked it up this morning," Fred tells them.

"It's not going to work," Hermione says in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, yeah, and why is that, Granger," Fred asks.

"You see this? This is an age line. Dumbledore drew it himself."

"So?"

Holly rolls her eyes, "So a genius like Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by something pathetically dimwitted such as an age potion," She tells the twins.

"But that's why it's so brilliant," George says.

"Because it's so pathetically dimwitted," Fred tells Holly.

The twins look at each other and grin, "Ready, Fred?"

"Ready, George."

"Bottoms up," they say in unison.

After drinking their potion, the boys jump over the age line. When nothing happens, they cheer, and everyone claps. Fred and George put their names into the Goblet. The flame fires up, and they're flung across the room onto the floor. When they get up, they have full heads of grey hair and beards.

"You said…"

" Fred, you said…"

The twins roll around, fighting on the floor, and the crowd cheer. The room suddenly becomes silent as Viktor Krum walks in and puts his name in the Goblet as well. As he drops his name in, he turns and smiles at Holly. Holly blushes and smiles back, Hermione smiles at Holly, while Harry and Ron stared at her.

"What's that about," Ron asks.

"Nothing," Holly says and goes back to reading her book.

On Halloween night everyone gathers in the Great Hall, Dumbledore stands in front of the Goblet of Fire, "Sit down, please. And now the moment you've all been waiting for, the selection of the champion!"

Dumbledore approaches the blue flame, and it glows red. A name comes out. Everyone looks on anxiously, "The Durmstrang champion is... Viktor Krum."

The Durmstrang crowd cheer as Viktor makes his way into the back room. The blue flame glows red again, "The champion from Beauxbatons... Fleur Delacour."

The Beauxbatons girls cheer as Fleur walks up. Another name comes out, "The Hogwarts champion is… Cedric Diggory."

The Hogwarts student cheer, but none louder than Hufflepuff, Cedric smiles and makes his way to the back room with the other two champions.

"Excellent! We now have our three champions! But in the end, only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory, the Tri-Wizard Cup!"

People cheer, but the goblet glows red two more times, and two other names fly out. Dumbledore takes it and reads... "Harry and Holly Potter."

Everyone in the room gasp as the Potter twins look at each other, horrified. Dumbledore yells their names again, "Go you guys, for goodness sake," Hermione says.

Harry and Holly slowly walk up. Dumbledore gives them their paper. Voices in the crowd shout out, "They cheated, they're not even seventeen yet."

Harry and Holly walk past Dumbledore and head into the back room. Upon entering, the three champions stare at the twins, "What is it," Fleur asks, "Do zey want us back in ze Hall?"

The twins stand there and stare at the three champions. Viktor looks at Holly and notices how distressed she seems. He walks up to her and takes her hand, "Holly vhat is the matter?"

"Viktor-"

But before Holly can answer him, Dumbledore and the other Professor storm into the room, including McGonagall, Moody, and Snape. Dumbledore walks straight up to Harry and grabs him by both arms, "Harry, did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?"

"No, sir."

"Did you ask an older student to do it for you," Dumbledore asks.

"No, sir."

"What about you, Holly?"

"No, sir, I didn't either."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, sir," The twins said at the same time.

"But of course zey are lying," Madam Maxime says with Karkaroff agreeing with her.

"The hell they are. The goblet of fire is an exceptionally powerful magical object, only an exceptionally powerful conjurer could have hoodwinked it. Magic way beyond the talents of two fourth years."

"You seem to have given this a fair bit of thought, Mad-Eye," Karkaroff says.

Moody steps closer to him, "It was once my job to think as dark wizards do Karkaroff perhaps you remember?"

They begin to argue again, accusing the twins of cheating. Holly gets fed up with all the bickering, "Oh, for Merlin's sake! I swear on my magic I did not put my name in the Goblet," She says as she pulls out her wand.

The room brightens and then settled. Seeing as how Holly is still alive, they cannot refute the fact that she is not lying. Harry does the same thing with the same results. Dumbledore looks over, and Barty Crouch Senior, "We leave this to you, Barty."

Barty turns around and looks at Dumbledore, "The rules are absolute, the Goblet of Fire constitutes a binding magical contract.  
Mr. and Miss Potter has no choice; they are as of tonight... Tri-Wizards champions."

Viktor frowns at hearing this news. The last thing he wanted was for Holly to get hurt in this competition. Once the declaration has been made, the champions leave the room, Fleur heading back to her carriage, Cedric to the Hufflepuff Common Room, and Viktor back to his ship. The Potter twins stand there for a moment then make their way to the Gryffindor Common Room.

When they get there, Holly and Harry find Hermione standing outside the portrait hole, Harry's brow furrows, "What's wrong, Hermione?"

"I wanted to let you two know that Gryffindor is having a party for you to congratulate you for tricking the Goblet."

"We didn't enter our names," Holly tells her.

"I know you didn't. I could tell by the look of horror on your faces. But…"

"But what," Harry asks.

"Ron seems to think that you two somehow cheated and is upset."

Holly and Harry look at each other, "You're joking, he honestly believes that we would do something like that?"

"Yes."

Harry sighs and rubs his forehead, "Alright, I'll talk with him."

"Good. Let's go inside."

Harry looks at Holly, "Ready, Hol?"

Holly takes a deep breath and takes Harry's hand, "Ready, Harry."

Harry lets go of Holly's hand, and they enter the portrait hole. As soon as they enter, everyone in the Gryffindor Common Room begins to cheer, "You should've told us you'd entered!" Fred says to Holly.

"How did you do it without getting a beard? Brilliant!" George roared over the sound of the music.

"We didn't," Holly said, "We don't know-"

But Angelina had now swooped down upon them; "Oh if it couldn't be me, at least it's a Gryffindor —"

"You'll be able to pay back Diggory for that last Quidditch match, Harry!" shrieked Katie Bell, another of the Gryffindor Chasers, "We've got food, Harry, Holly come and have some —"

"I'm not hungry," The twins said at the same time.

"I want to go to bed," Holly said.

"Yeah, me too."

But the Gryffindor's wouldn't hear of it. No one wanted to hear that the twins weren't in the mood to celebrate. No one wanted to understand that the twins didn't put their names in the Goblet of Fire. All anyone wanted to do was party and congratulated the twins for fooling the Goblet. Eventually, the twins were able to make it upstairs to their dorms, where Harry had it out with Ron because Ron refused to believe that the twins were innocent.

But not everyone was happy that Holly and Harry were entered in the Triwizard Tournament. Everyone outside of Gryffindor was livid. The twins could hear people whispering behind their back that they were cheaters. And then the badges started showing up. As the twins walked to potions class together, they started seeing people wearing badges that read, Support Cedric Diggory. The REAL Hogwarts Champion. And then the person pressed the button into their chest, and the message upon it vanished, to be replaced by another one, which glowed green: Potters Stink!

As they walked to Potions, Holly and Harry would see people wearing those pins and sneering at them. Harry was getting mad, but Holly kept her head down. When they got to class, they immediately noticed that Ron was sitting with Hermione. Ron sneered at them when he spotted the twins. Harry was about to say something to Ron when he felt his sister's hand on his arm, "Forget about him; it's not worth it." They went and sat down at their table and waited for the lesson to start.

"Antidotes!" said Snape, looking around at them all, his cold black eyes glittering unpleasantly. "You should all have prepared your recipes now. I want you to brew them carefully, and then, we will be selecting someone on whom to test one. . . ." Snape looked right at Harry.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door; It was Colin Creevey; he edged into the room, beaming at Holly and Harry, and walked up to Snape's desk at the front of the room.

"Yes," Snape said curtly.

"Please, sir, I'm supposed to take Harry and Holly Potter upstairs."

"The Potters have another hour of Potions to complete," said Snape coldly. "They will come upstairs when this class is finished."

Colin went pink. "Sir — sir, Mr. Bagman wants them," he said nervously. "All the champions have got to go; I think they want to take photographs. . . ."

"Very well!" said Snape. "Potter, you and your sister take your bags and get out of my sight!"

The twins quickly gathered their belongings and left the classroom. Meanwhile, Viktor was making his way to where the other champions were. He had noticed that a lot of the Hogwarts students had Potters Stinks badges on, and little by little, his anger started to rise. He couldn't believe that these people would think that Holly and her brother would enter such a dangerous tournament. Even if Holly hadn't sworn on her magic that she didn't put her name in the Goblet, Viktor would have known that she and her brother didn't. They looked too terrified when they entered the room the night before. Besides, he didn't think that Holly was the type of person that would lie about something like this.

Viktor walked into the room where he was told to go and saw that Delacour and Diggory were already there, along with his headmaster and the headmasters of the other schools. Viktor walked in and made his way to the corner, after seeing those badges, he wasn't in the mood to have an idle conversation with anyone. As he looked around the room, Viktor noticed that Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch Senior were there as well. Viktor automatically noticed that Holly and her brother had yet to arrive. Viktor stood there with a stone expression on his face and waited to get this wand weighing out of the way.

At that moment, the Potter twins entered. His eyes zeroed in on the beautiful red-haired girl. Ludo Bagman notices them enter and bounds over to them, "Ah, here they are! Champions number four and five! In you come, Harry, Holly, in you come . . . nothing to worry about, it's just the wand weighing ceremony."

Harry and Holly look at Ludo, confused, "Wand weighing?" Holly asks.

"We have to check that your wands are fully functional, no problems, you know, as they're your most important tools in the tasks ahead," said Bagman. "The expert's upstairs now with Dumbledore. And then there's going to be a little photoshoot. This is Rita Skeeter," he added, gesturing toward the witch in magenta robes. "She's doing a small piece on the tournament for the Daily Prophet. . . ."

"Maybe not that small, Ludo," said Rita Skeeter, her eyes on Harry and Holly.

Her hair was set in elaborate and curiously rigid curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face. She wore jeweled spectacles. The thick fingers clutching her crocodile-skin handbag ended in two-inch nails, painted crimson. Holly instantly disliked the woman. She looked at her and Harry like they were lambs to the slaughter.

Holly sneers at the woman, but when she sees Viktor standing in the corner, her green eyes brighten, and she smiles at him. Viktor gives her a small smile and nods. This did not go unnoticed by Rita; her eyes sparkled at the insinuation.

"I wonder if I could have a little word with Harry and Holly before we start?" she said to Bagman, but still gazing fixedly at Holly. "The youngest champions, you know . . . to add a bit of color?"

"Certainly!" cried Bagman. "That is — if Harry and Holly have no objection?"

Before they could answer, Rita forcefully grabs Holly by the arm, "I'll start with Holly, we'll a little girl talk," She forcefully pulls Holly out of the room and towards a broom cupboard.

"Why are we in a broom cupboard?"

"For a little privacy, that's all. Now, I only want to ask you a few questions. How does it feel to be a Tri-Wizard Champion and only twelve years old?"

"Fourteen."

"Yes, and does it weigh heavily on your mind be the cause of your parents' death?"

"I thought you were here to ask me questions about the Tri-Wizard Tournament?"

Rita gives Holly a shark-like grin, "Alright, dear. Tell me how long have you and the Bulgarian Bon Bon been dating?"

Holly looks at her in surprise, "We are not dating. I only just met him."

"Of course you aren't, dear."

Holly watches as the green quill begins writing on its own, "Viktor and I are not lovers!" Holly cries.

"Just ignore the quill, dear."

Holly glares at Rita, then suddenly, the notepad and quill burst into flames startling Rita. Holly smiles at her, "I think this interview is over." Holly stands up and makes her way back into the room where Harry is waiting for her.

When Holly returns, Harry can see that she's fuming, "Are you alright, Holly?"

Holly takes a deep breath, "Fine, just give me a minute, 100, 99, 98…"

Harry's eyes widen, he knew that Holly was royally pissed if she had to start counting backward to calm down. A few moments later, Rita comes in with soot on her face; she glares at Holly, who glares back. Rita then reaches for Harry, but Holly takes a step towards her. Viktor smirks as he watches Rita take a step back and instead goes back towards the judges. Viktor smirked at seeing the fear in that Skeeter woman's eyes.

At that moment, Professor Dumbledore comes into the room, followed by an older gentleman with grey hair and silver eyes, "May I introduce Mr. Ollivander?" said Dumbledore, taking his place at the judges' table and talking to the champions. "He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the tournament."

"Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first, please?" said Mr. Ollivander, stepping into the space in the middle of the room.

Fleur Delacour swept over to Mr. Ollivander and handed him her wand.

"Hmmm . . ." Ollivander said. He twirled the wand between his long fingers like a baton, and it emitted several pink and gold sparks. Then he held it close to his eyes and examined it carefully. "Yes," he said quietly, "nine and a half inches, inflexible, rosewood, and containing . . . dear me."

"An 'air from ze 'ead of a veela," said Fleur. "One of my grandmuzzer's."

Holly smirks at Harry; he lightly pushes her. Holly had told Harry that Fleur had to be a veela because of the way all of the boys were reacting when she arrived.

Mr. Ollivander ran his fingers along the wand, apparently checking for scratches or bumps; then, he muttered, "Orchideous!" and a bunch of flowers burst from the wand-tip.

"Very well, very well, it's in fine working order," said Mr. Ollivander, scooping up the flowers and handing them to Fleur with her wand.

"Mr. Diggory, you next." Fleur glided back to her seat, smiling at Cedric as he passed her.

"Ah, now, this is one of mine, isn't it?" said Mr. Ollivander, with much more enthusiasm, as Cedric handed over his wand. "Yes, I remember it well. It contains a single hair from the tail of a particularly fine male unicorn; must have been seventeen hands; nearly gored me with his horn after I plucked his tail. Twelve and a quarter inches, ash, pleasantly springy, it's in fine condition. You treat it regularly?"

"Polished it last night," said Cedric, grinning.

Mr. Ollivander sent a stream of silver smoke rings across the room from the tip of Cedric's wand, pronounced himself satisfied, and then said, "Mr. Krum, if you please."

Viktor Krum got up and walked towards Mr. Ollivander. His eyes flash to Holly as he walks by. Viktor thrust out his wand and stood scowling, with his hands in the pockets of his robes.

"Hmm," said Mr. Ollivander, "this is a Gregorovitch creation unless I'm much mistaken? A fine wandmaker, though the styling is never quite what I, however . . ." He lifted the wand and examined it minutely, turning it over and over before his eyes. "Yes . . . hornbeam and dragon heartstring?" he shot at Krum, who nodded. "Rather thicker than one usually sees . . . quite rigid . . . ten and a quarter inches, Avis!"

The hornbeam wand let off a blast like a gun, and several small, twittering birds flew out of the end and through the open window into the watery sunlight.

"Good," said Mr. Ollivander, handing Krum back his wand. "Mr. Potter, if you would."

Harry got to his feet and walked past Krum to Mr. Ollivander. He handed over his wand, "Aaaah, yes," said Mr. Ollivander, his pale eyes suddenly gleaming. "Yes, yes, yes. How well I remember."

Mr. Ollivander spent much longer examining Harry's wand than anyone else's. Eventually, however, he made a fountain of wine shoot out of it, and handed it back to Harry, announcing that it was still in perfect condition.

"Which leaves, Miss Potter."

Holly stands up and makes her way over towards Mr. Ollivander. He smiles at the young woman. "Yes, Fir with a phoenix feather core, 11" and reasonably supple flexibility."

Ollivander takes just as long with Holly's wand as he did with Harry's. He makes a fountain of water shoot out of Holly's wand and hands it back, announcing that her wand as well is in perfect condition.

"Thank you all," said Dumbledore, standing up at the judges' table. "You may go back to your lessons now — or perhaps it would be quicker just to go down to dinner, as they are about to end —"

"Photos, Dumbledore, photos!" cried Bagman excitedly. "All the judges and champions, what do you think, Rita?"

"Er — yes, let's do those first," said Rita Skeeter, whose eyes were upon Harry and Holly again. "And then perhaps some individual shots."

Holly sends her a fierce glare causing the woman to stammer, "Perhaps, perhaps we can do the individual shots later."

Behind her, Holly hears Viktor snort at Rita's reaction. Holly looks up at him and smirks. After the group picture is taken, Holly, Harry and the other champions head down to the Great Hall for dinner. 


	5. Friendly Competition

*ITALICS = BULGARIAN*

At dinner, Holly and Harry explain to the others what happened at the wand weighing ceremony. Harry told them how Rita Skeeter grabbed Holly and dragged her away to interview with her, but then came back and left the rest of the Champions alone. Hermione and Ginny look at each other, "What did you do, Holly?"

Holly gives them an innocent look, "Nothing, though I may have set her quill and notepad on fire."

"Holly!" Hermione cried.

"What, all she was doing was writing rubbish about Viktor and me just because he smiled at me."

"He smiled at you," Ron asked in awe.

Holly rolls her eyes, "Yes, fangirl, Viktor smiled at me."

"I didn't know he could smile. What with that permanent scowl on his face," George says.

Holly glares at George. Harry laughs at his sister, "So, that's why you started counting."

"Ooh, if Holly was doing that, she must have very mad indeed," Ginny said.

"You fiery redhead," Fred says as he puts his arm around Holly.

Holly smiles at Fred, "I can't help it, Moony says I get my temper from my mother." Holly says with a shrug, "Besides that vile woman deserved it."

Harry and the others laugh. On the other side of the Great Hall, Viktor looks up when he hears laughter coming from the Gryffindor table. Viktor sees that a red-haired boy has his arm around Holly's shoulder, and she's laughing. Viktor's eyes narrow at the sight, and he feels twinge jealous.

Aleksandur follows his friend's eyes, *_So I see the little red-haired girl has caught the great Bulgarian Seeker's eye.* Aleksandur says with a smirk._

_*I don't know what you're talking about.*_

Viktor's other friend Demitri laughs, *_Of course, you don't, my friend. But if I were you I would talk with her before that boy snatches her away from you.*_

_*I am not interested in her like that._* Viktor tells his friends.

Aleksandur and Demitri each raise an eyebrow at Viktor. Viktor sighs, *_Alright, maybe a little. But I will never get a chance to talk to her with her brother and friends around her.*_

Viktor turns and scowls when he sees that the other red-haired twin has moved over to sit with Holly. When dinner is over, Viktor, Aleksandur, and Demetri make their way back to the ship. As they are walking, Demetri notices the Potter girl making her way towards the lake with an arctic fox following behind her. He smirks and looks at his friend, *_Now is your chance, Viktor, the Potter girl is alone.*_ Demetri tells him then turns Viktor around.

Viktor smiles at the sight of Holly running towards the lake being chased by the fox. He can barely make out her laughing from that distance. Viktor smiles and begins to walk towards Holly and her fox. When he reaches them, he finds Holly lying on the ground with her Arctic fox standing on top of her, licking her face.

"Vhat is going on here?" Viktor asks, startling Holly.

Holly quickly stands up and blushes, "Viktor; I wasn't expecting anyone to be down here."

"I can see that," Viktor says and walks closer towards Holly.

When Viktor gets closer to Holly, her little fox puts himself between him and Holly. The fox growls at Viktor.

"He is very protective of you."

Holly smiles, "Yes, he is. Archimedes down, Viktor is a friend."

The little fox stops growling and sits down. Viktor kneels in front of the fox and put his hand out so that the fox can smell him.

"Oh, I wouldn't-" Holly says but cuts herself off when Archimedes takes a step forward and sniffs Viktor's hand. Holly's eyes widen when she sees the fox lick Viktor's hand. Viktor smiles and pets him.

"Wow, Archimedes likes you."

Viktor looks up at her, "You are surprised?"

"Yes, he doesn't like boys being around me. You're the first boy Archimedes has ever licked, outside of my brother and friends."

Viktor looks back at Archimedes, "I am honored, little fox."

"His name is Archimedes."

"It's nice to meet you, Archimedes."

Archimedes yips then jumps into Viktor's arms. Holly giggles at the surprised look on Viktor's face. Viktor laughs and stands up with Archimedes in his arms. Holly stares at Viktor, "What are you doing down here?"

Viktor rubs the back of his neck, "I saw you walking toward the lake, and I vanted to talk vith you."

Holly tilts her head, "What did you want to talk about?"

"I vanted to see how you vere doing after vhat happened yesterday."

"Oh, that. I'm doing okay, I guess. I'm still a little shocked that Harry and I were selected as Champions," Holly looked up at Viktor, "You believed me when we said that we didn't do it, right?"

"Da, even before you swore on your magic, I knew that you didn't enter your name in the Goblet. You and your brother looked very frightened."

Holly sighed, for some reason, it meant a lot to her that Viktor believes her. "Thank you," Holly said as she looked up at Viktor through her lashes.

Viktor takes a step closer, "You are velcome, Holly." Viktor takes her hand and kisses it.

Holly blushes, causing Viktor to smile, "I, I better get back inside before curfew." Holly tells him as she pulls her hand out of his.

She takes Archimedes from Viktor and starts walking back towards the castle. Viktor watches her go then calls out to her, Holly stops and turns around. Viktor jogs up to Holly.

"Yes, Viktor?"

"Tomorrow is Saturday, and I was vondering if you vould like to go flying vith me?"

"I would love to go flying with you, Viktor."

Viktor smiles, "Shall ve meet on the Quidditch Pitch after breakfast?"

"Alright, I'll see you then."

Viktor kissed her hand again and patted Archimedes on the head. Holly blushed and began walking back towards the castle, she turned around and saw that Viktor was still watching her. Holly made her way up to Gryffindor Tower and gave the password to the Fat Lady. Upon entering, she found Harry and the others waiting for her. Holly put Archimedes down, and the little fox ran over to Hermione and jumped onto the couch to cuddle with Crookshanks.

"Where were you," Harry asked his twin.

"I was down by the lake playing with Archimedes," Holly tells Harry

Harry was in the middle of playing Exploding Snaps with George while Hermione sat on the floor doing her weekend homework. She suddenly looked up and noticed that Holly was staring at her. Hermione gives the girl a questioning look and Holly motions with her head discreetly to go upstairs to their dorm. Hermione nods and packs up her books.

"Well, boys, Holly and I are off to bed."

Harry looks up from his game and frowns, "But's it's still early."

"Yes, but this has been an exhausting day, and I'm tired," Holly tells her brother.

"Oh, Okay."

Holly walks over to her brother and kisses his forehead. Then she and Hermione make their way upstairs. When they get back to their dorm, Holly puts a locking charm on the door and sits down on her bed. Hermione looks at her and sits down next to her.

"Holly, what's the matter?"

Holly smiles, "Nothing's the matter I only wanted to tell what happened at the lake."

"What happened?"

Holly proceeded to tell Hermione all about her conversation with Viktor and that he invited her to go flying with him tomorrow after breakfast also that he kissed her hand twice. Hermione stared at Holly in disbelief, "What do you think it means?" Holly asked her best friend.

"I think it means that Viktor likes you."

"You think so?" Holly asked.

"I'm almost positive."

"What should I do, Hermione?"

"I don't think you should do anything. I think you should get to know him first. Do you like Viktor?"

Holly blushes, "Yes, he's sweet, at least to me. Should I consider this a date?"

"No, only two people going flying together."

Holly thinks about it for a moment, "You're right."

"On another matter, are you going to tell Sirius and Remus about the Tri-Wizard Tournament," Hermione asked.

"I think it would be for the best. This is something that they should know. I think I'll write to them in the morning before I go down for breakfast."

"Alright."

With that, Holly and Hermione get ready for bed.

Meanwhile, on the ship, Viktor makes his way towards his cabin. He finds Aleksandur and Demitri sitting in their cabin, playing Wizard's Chess. They look up when he comes in, *_So, how did it go with your little red-haired girl,*_ Demitri asks.

*It went well; we talked for a while, she introduced me to her familiar. Then I asked Holly to go flying with me tomorrow.*

Viktor's friends look at each other and smirk, *_So, you do like the little witch.*_

_*I find her intriguing, yes. She's different from any girl I have met. Holly doesn't seem to care about my fame.*_

*_I would think not since she is famous in her own right,*_ Aleksandur tells Viktor, *_If anyone understood what it's like to be in the limelight all the time it would be Holly Potter.*_

Viktor nods.

_*Is this a date, then,*_ Demitri asks.

*_No, only two people sharing what they enjoy doing. She is an excellent flier, almost as good as me. Holly told me that she is a reserve Seeker and Chaser for her house Quidditch team.*_

_*Huh, maybe you can challenge her to a game tomorrow.*_

Viktor's face lights up, *_That is an excellent idea, my friend. I would like to see how skilled she is as a Seeker.*_

After that, Viktor gets ready for bed. He watches his friend play for a while then goes to sleep.

The next morning, Holly gets up early to shower and change. She makes her way downstairs and writes a letter to Sirius and Remus. When she's finished, Holly goes to the owlery and has Hedwig take it to Sirius and Remus. When she gets back to the Common Room, Harry and Hermione are downstairs waiting for her.

"Where did you go?" Harry asks.

"To send a letter to Sirius and Remus to let them know what happened."

"Right, I should have thought of that," Harry says as they make their way down to the Great Hall.

"Well, I am the smarter of the two of us," Holly says and bumps her hip and Harry.

Harry rolls his eyes and puts his arm around his sister. When they walk into the Great Hall, the room quiets down and stares at the twins. Harry, Holly, and Hermione stand there for a moment, looking at everyone, "Come you guys, let's sit down."

The trio takes their seats and serves themselves breakfast. Meanwhile, at the Slytherin table, Viktor watches with a frown on his face as he watches Holly take a seat at her table. From where he sits, Viktor can tell that she's agitated at how everyone was staring at her and her brother. Everyone starts talking again, but Viktor can hear that most of them are talking about how the Potter twins are cheaters, especially the blonde idiot sitting across from him.

"I bet Potty and his bitch sister don't last ten minutes in the first task," Draco says.

Viktor grips his cup of pumpkin juice tighter until his knuckles turn white. He wanted to reach across the table and punch the smug blonde as hard as he can. Aleksandur notices Viktor's reaction, *_Calm down, Viktor, you can't hit the boy.*_

Viktor scowls, but he knows that Aleksandur is right. So he does his best to ignore Draco and goes back to eating his breakfast. But he would glance up to see how Holly was doing. He noticed that the red-haired boy that was sitting with her and brother when Viktor first arrived is seated as far away from as them as possible and kept glaring and Holly and Harry. Viktor shakes his head; the boy was jealous. From where Viktor sat, he could see Harry and the red-haired boy glaring at each other, but Holly had her head down eating her breakfast.

Vikor finished his breakfast and left to get his Firebolt and a snitch that he kept in his trunk. He walked to the Quidditch Pitch and waited for Holly. When Holly saw Viktor leave, she finished her breakfast and stood up.

"I'll see you guys later."

Harry looked up at Holly, "Where are you going?"

"Um, back to the Common Room."

"Oh, okay, see you later then," Harry said, then continued to eat.

Hermione looked at Holly and smiled, causing Holly to blush. Holly made her way up to Gryffindor Tower and got her firebolt. She then ran out of the castle and made her way to the pitch; she didn't want to keep Viktor waiting. When Holly got there, Viktor had his back to her. She cleared her throat, causing Viktor to turn around. He smiled at her and walked towards her. Holly decided that he looked very handsome when he smiled.

Viktor took Holly's hand and kissed it, "It is good to see you, Holly."

"It's good to see you too, Viktor. So, shall we race each other," Holly asked.

"I had something else in mind," Viktor pulls out the golden snitch from his pocket, "Vhy don't we play against each other?"

Holly's eyes widen, "I can't beat you, you're a professional Quidditch player. I'm only a reserve Seeker. Harry is much better than I am. If you want, I could get him to play you."

Viktor took a step closer to Holly, "I don't vant to play against your brother, I vant to play against you. It is all in good fun, Holly."

Holly blushed, "Alright."

Viktor smiled and mounted his broom; Holly followed his example. He released the snitch and the shot off into the air. As they circled each other, they talked about their lives. Viktor told Holly about his life in Bulgaria and how he became a professional Quidditch player so young, while Holly told him about her experience at Hogwarts. But as they talked, they still kept their eye out for the snitch.

Suddenly the snitch appeared in front of Holly. She took off after it with Viktor chasing her. The snitch darted off to the left with Viktor and Holly chasing after it. The snitch dove straight down the darted to the right and disappeared again. Viktor looked at Holly, "You are very skilled, perhaps you can keep up vith me after all."

"Maybe I can," Holly said with a smirk.

Holly and Viktor continued to talk and get to know each other. The snitch reappeared, and they gave chase again. This time Viktor was in the lead, Holly tried to catch up with him, but Viktor was faster and surprisingly very agile for his size. Eventually, Viktor caught the snitch. The landed, and Holly walked over to congratulate Viktor, "I knew you were going to catch it."

"That may be, Holly, but you are very good."

Holly looked at the ground, "Thank you," she said shyly.

"Perhaps ve can do this again sometime."

Holly's green eyes lit up, "I'd like that."

"Vonderful, Malka Zvezda, (Little Star.) I look forvard to it."

With that, Viktor kissed Holly's hand, and they left the pitch together. As they got closer to the lake, Viktor veered off to go his ship while Holly went to the castle. They both needed to put their brooms away and go to the Great Hall for lunch.


	6. Jealously

**NOT BETA'D ANY MISTAKES ARE MY OWN**

When Holly entered Gryffindor Common Room, she found Hermione sitting on the sofa reading while Harry was playing chess with Neville. Holly tried to sneak up to the girls' dorm, but Harry spotted her. Harry's brow furrowed when he saw Holly carrying her broom.

"You went flying?" Harry asked his sister.

Holly cringed; she was hoping that she'd be able to make it upstairs without being noticed. Holly turned around and looked at her brother, "Um, yeah, only for a little while."

"Why didn't you ask me to go with you? We could have practiced."

"I wasn't there alone."

"Who was with you?"

"Viktor Krum," Holly mumbles.

"I'm sorry, who?"

"Viktor Krum."

Harry's eyebrows shot, and his mouth falls open. He looks at Neville, who has the same expression. Hermione hides her smile with her book, "Why did you two go flying together," Harry asks.

"Why not, Viktor asked me if I wanted to go flying with him and I said yes."

Harry scowls, "So, this was a date?"

"No, it was two people that enjoy the same thing. The only thing we did was talk and play against each other."

"Who won," Neville asked.

Harry glares at his friend.

Holly laughs, "He did, of course."

"I don't like it, Hol, you're my baby sister."

"Harry, you're two minutes older than me."

"So, I'm still older."

"Nothing happened," Holly tells her brother.

Harry's eyes narrow, "It better not have."

Holly rolls her eyes and goes upstairs to put her broom away. The minute she walks out of the room, Harry grabs a piece of parchment and starts writing, "What are you doing," Hermione asks.

"I'm writing Sirius and Remus. They need to tell her to stay away from him."

"You're going to tell your parents about Viktor. Why?" Hermione asked.

"I don't like it, Mione, he's probably using her to get information."

Hermione studied Harry's face, then she grinned, "You're jealous."

Harry looked at his best friend, shock, "I am not."

"Yes, you are. For thirteen years, it's been you and Holly. You've never had to share her with anyone. But now you think you're going to lose her to someone else."

Harry's eyes narrow, "I do not," He says indignantly. "I'm only worried that he's going to break her heart."

"Harry, they went flying together, once. That doesn't mean they're dating," Neville tells him.

Harry looks between his two friends and huffs, "I have a letter to send. I'll meet you guys in the Great Hall."

Harry gets up and leaves the Common Room. By this time, Holly has come back downstairs. She looks around and sees that her brother is missing, "Where's Harry?"

"Harry had to go do something; he said he'd meet us in the Great Hall."

Holly nods, "Okay, then let's head down. I'm starving."

The next day, Holly and Hermione are studying finishing up the last of their homework in the library. It's early in the morning, and everyone is still asleep, so the library is still empty. Holly and Hermione are in the process of working on their transfigurations homework when they suddenly hear someone clear their throat. The girls look up and see Viktor Krum standing there. He smiles at both girls, and Holly beams at him.

"Good morning, ladies, vould you mind if I sit here?"

"No, not at all, Viktor, the more, the merrier," Holly says.

Hermione looks down at her book, trying to hide her smile.

Viktor pulls out the chair and sits down across from Holly, "How are you this morning, Holly?"

"I'm good, Viktor, thank you. And you."

"I am doing very vell."

They stare at each other for a moment until Hermione clears her throat. Holly looks at her friend, then her eyes widen, "Merlin, where are my manners, Viktor, this is my best friend, Hermione. Hermione, this is Viktor."

Viktor smiles at Hermione, "It is nice to meet you, Herm-own-ninny." Viktor says, pronouncing Hermione's name slowly.

"It's nice to meet you too, Viktor."

"Vhat are you ladies doing here so early?"

"Oh, Hermione and I have a bit of homework to finish, and we like to get here when no one else is here. What about you?"

"Same, I also like to hide from my fan club here," Viktor says.

Holly nods. She didn't have a fan club as Viktor had, but Holly knew what it was like to have people stare at you all the time. She felt a pang of sympathy for him. Viktor opened up his Defense Against the Dark Arts book and got to work on his homework while the girls continued to work on their Transfiguration homework. Hermione had her head down writing her essay, but she was watching Holly and Viktor out of the corner of her eye. She noticed that they would occasionally glance at each other without the other seeing. Hermione thought it was the cutest thing.

Hermione eventually closed her book, "Well, I'm finished. I'm going to have breakfast now. I'll see you two later."

Holly and Viktor said goodbye to Hermione and went back to work. When Viktor finishes his homework, he closes his book and stares at Holly. Holly's eyes flash up from her parchment and notice him staring; her face begins to flush. When she finishes her essay, Holly closes her book, and she looks up at Viktor and smiles.

"Shall we go to breakfast," Holly asks.

Viktor frowns, "I vould prefer not to. I vish to escape my fan club for a vhile longer."

Holly's brow furrows, then her face lights up, "I know, we can go eat in the kitchen," Then she blushes, "That is if you want to."

Viktor smiles, "I would luff to."

"Brilliant, let's go."

Viktor and Holly pack up their stuff and leave the library. Without thinking, Holly reaches out and takes Viktor's hand, leading him down the hallway. Suddenly Holly's eyes widen when she realizes what she did. She instantly lets go of his hand and blushes. Viktor chuckles and reaches for her hand again. Holly looks at their hands and gives him a shy smile.

Holly leads Viktor to the basement; they stand in front of a painting of a bowl of fruit. Viktor gives her a confused look, Holly smiles at him mischievously and reaches up to tickle the pear. The pear begins to laugh, and a door appears. Holly leads Viktor into the kitchen, where the house-elves are bustling around making breakfast. When Dobby spots Holly, he rushes over towards her and Viktor.

Dobby bows, his bat-like ears slapping against the stone floor, "Miss Holly Potter, Dobby be happy to see her." Dobby says.

"Hello, Dobby, how are you?"

"Dobby being doing fine, Miss Holly Potter."

"That's good. Dobby, I'd like to introduce you to my friend Viktor Krum."

"Hello, Krum, any friend of Miss Holly Potter is being friend of Dobby."

Viktor smiled at the little house, elf.

"Dobby, I don't suppose Viktor and I could have breakfast down here?" Holly asks.

"Anything for Miss Holly Potter. You be sitting, and Dobby will bring breakfast."

"Thank you, Dobby."

Viktor and Holly sat down at one of the tables, "He is a curious elf," Viktor says, "He is yours?"

"No, Dobby is a free elf."

Viktor looks at Holly surprised, Viktor had never seen a free elf before. "How is he free?"

"Harry freed him in our second year from the Malfoy family. They mistreated him very badly."

Viktor's eyes darken in anger, "Malfoy, the little blonde boy in Slytherin, Da?"

"Yes, he's an arsehole," Holly says without thinking. Then she looks up at Viktor, "Oh, I'm sorry, Viktor, for my language."

Viktor laughs, "No, Holly, I vould have to agree on vith you."

Holly's heart skips a beat at hearing Viktor laugh. At that moment, Dobby comes back; he snaps his fingers and some eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, jam, tea, and pumpkin juice. Holly and Viktor serve themselves and have an excellent breakfast with interesting conversation.

Viktor tells Holly all about his life at Durmstrang and about his family and friends. And Holly tells Viktor about her and Harry's adventures so far at Hogwarts. She doesn't go into a lot of detail about her time before living with Sirius and Remus. Holly only tells him that She and Harry didn't get along with her relative. But in their third year, when Sirius was cleared of the charges, she and Harry moved in with him and Remus. After breakfast, Viktor asks Holly if she would like to walk along the lake with him.

"I would love to, Viktor."

So they sneak out of the castle and make their way down to the lake. After a while, Archimedes finds them walking around, and they play with him for a while.

Meanwhile, at the Potter mansion, where Sirius and Remus were now living, the two men are having a nice breakfast prepared by the Potter elves. Sirius is mindlessly drinking some coffee trying to wake up while Remus is reading the Daily Prophet. Both men look up when they see Hedwig fly in.

Sirius and Remus look at each other, they had already gotten the letter from Holly telling them about the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Sirius had raged about the judges letting two fourteen-year-olds compete, but in the end, Remus calmed him down, telling him there was nothing they could do. Now Hedwig was there again. Sirius took the note from the snowy owl and read it while Remus gave her some bacon and water. As Sirius read the letter, his eyes began to widen.

"I'll kill him," Sirius exclaims.

"Kill who? What's going on?" Remus asked.

Sirius thrusts the letter into Remus' hand. Remus reads the message, "Oh, that's nice."

"Nice, nice? Some Bulgarian Quidditch Seeker is seducing our little girl, and all you can say is that's nice? That's not nice, Moony, that's horrible. Even Harry thinks so."

Remus rolls his eyes, "Holly is not being seduced, Padfoot. She went flying with the boy, nothing else."

"That's enough!" Sirius rants as he's pacing back and forth.

Remus crosses his arms and stares at Sirius, "You're jealous."

"I am not! Why should I be jealous?"

"Because you think that if Holly and Viktor start dating, she's not going to love you anymore."

"That's ridiculous."

Remus raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, fine, that's exactly what I think," Sirius says as he plops down in his seat again, "Moony, I don't want to lose my little girl."

"Oh, Padfoot, you're not losing her. Holly is growing up. She a beautiful young woman, and it was bound to happen that boys were going to find her attractive."

"But what if this Quidditch idiot is only using her?"

"Holly's smart, she's not going to do anything stupid. Remember, Holly should have been in Ravenclaw. She's not as impulsive as you and Harry."

"I suppose you're right Moony, thank you."

Remus stood up and kissed Sirius on the lips, "Any time, love."

Sirius still decided to write Harry a letter telling him spy on his sister just in case. Remus knew that and sent his own letter telling Harry to ignore Sirius.

The beginning of the week went by relatively normal, but on Wednesday morning, Holly and Harry got a message from Hagrid that they were to meet him by his hut and to bring Harry's invisibility cloak. The sibling made their way to Hagrid's hut after dinner to find out what was going on. When Holly and Harry arrived, they followed Hagrid out into the Forbidden Forest.

"Did you bring your father's cloak as I asked you?"

"Yeah, we brought the cloak. Hagrid, where are we going?" Holly asked.

"You'll see soon enough. Pay attention; this is important."

"What's with the flower? Hagrid, have you combed your hair?" Harry asked.

Hagrid is looking more dapper than usual and is carrying a big red flower.

"As a matter of fact, I have. You might like to try the same thing now and again." Hagrid huffs at Harry, causing Holly to giggle.

At that moment, they here a female voice; it's Madame Maxime, "Hagrid?"

"Oh cloak, put the cloak on you two," Hagrid tells the twins.

Harry quickly covers him and Holly with the cloak. A short time later, Madame Maxime comes into view.

"Bonsoir Olympe."

"Oh, Hagrid. I thought you weren't coming, I thought perhaps... you had... forgotten me."

"I could never forget you, Olympe," Hagrid tells her.

"What is it you want to show me? When we spoke earlier, you sounded so exhilarated."

"You'll be glad you came. Trust me," Hagrid tells her as he leads Madame Maxime further into the forest. Holly and Harry were keeping just a little behind them.

They suddenly hear a dragon roar ahead of them, "Ahh, c'est Magnifique!" Madame Maxime says, "Can we get closer?"

Harry pulls the invisibility cloak off of him and Holly, "Dragons? That's the first task? You're joking." Holly nearly screamed.

"Come on, Holly. They're seriously misunderstood creatures."

Harry and Holly looked at each other in disbelief as flames shoot up.

"Although, I have to admit that horntail is a right nasty piece of work. Poor Ron nearly fainted just seeing him, you know."

"Ron was here," Harry asked.

"Oh, sure. His brother Charlie helped bring him over from Romania. Didn't Ron tell you that?" Hagrid asked.

"No, he didn't," Holly said.

After that, Holly and Harry made their way back towards Gryffindor Tower. When the twins got there, they sat down on the plush sofa. After a while, Holly turns to Harry, "Do you think the other champions know?"

"I think Madame Maxime is going to tell Fleur, but I don't know about the others."

"I think we should tell them," Holly tells her brother.

Harry slowly nods, "I think you're right. It's only fair that Cedric and Viktor know as well. Alright, tomorrow, we'll tell the others."

Holly nods, and they go into Gryffindor Tower. The next day, Holly goes looking for Viktor. She doesn't find him in the library or the Great Hall, so Holly decides to go to his ship and ask someone if they can get Viktor for her. As Holly makes her down to the boat with Archimedes, the Arctic Fox suddenly takes off running towards the black lake.

"Archimedes!" Holly yells.

Holly runs after her familiar. The Little fox stops by the lake and begins yipping, Holly picks him up, "What's gotten into you?"

At that moment, Holly hears someone call her name. Holly turns around and looks towards the lake and sees Viktor swimming in the freezing lake. He starts swimming towards her when he steps onto the shore. He's wearing nothing but his swimming trunks, and Viktor smirks when he sees Holly quickly look at his chest, then turn red and turn around. Viktor takes his wand and casts a drying spell then gets dressed.

"Vhat brings you down to the lake so early," Viktor asks Holly.

Holly turns around and looks at Viktor, "Um, why did I come down here? I forgot." Viktor chuckles.

"Oh, I wanted to talk to you about the first task."

"Vhat about it?"

"Harry and I found out what we're going to be facing. It's going to be dragons."

Viktor's eyes widen, "Are you certain?"

"Yeah, we saw them. The judges have a dragon for each of us."

Viktor walks towards Holly, "Thank you for telling me, malŭk gŭlŭb, (little dove.)" Then he kisses her hand.

Holly stares up at Viktor, "You're welcome."

They stare at each other for a moment until Archimedes wiggles his way out of Holly's arms and starts making his way towards the castle, "Well, I guess I should get going. Classes are going to start."

Viktor continues to hold Holly's hand; she gently pulls her hand out of his and starts backing away, "Bye, Viktor, I'll see you later."

"Yes, you vill, malŭk gŭlŭb. (Little Dove.)"

With that, Viktor makes his to his ship.


	7. First Date

Holly made her way to Charms class and sat down next to Hermione, who gave her a strange look, "Are you okay? Your face is red."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Holly says Hermione, "Do you know if Harry told Cedric about the dragons?"

"Yeah, he found him before class. Did you find Viktor?"

Holly blushes even more, "Yeah, I found him swimming in the lake."

"In this weather? Wasn't he cold?"

"Um, I didn't ask him, I forgot to. Anyway, I told him about the dragons."

"How did you find Viktor at the lake?"

"Archimedes led me to him."

Hermione smirked, "Is that why you're blushing."

"No, I didn't see anything."

"I didn't say you did, but obviously you did."

"Shut up, Hermione," Holly said then ignored her.

Hermione giggled and turned to pay attention to Professor Flitwick.

As soon as class was over, Holly, Harry, Hermione, and Neville went to the library. They had to research dragons to see what they could do against them. It was going to be difficult since Holly and Harry were only fourth years; their knowledge of spells wasn't nearly as good as the others. Eventually, Professor asked Harry and Holly to his office, but Holly had a bad feeling about him and told Harry.

"Harry, don't go. I have a bad feeling about him. I don't trust Professor Moody."

"Holly, Professor Moody is an ex-Auror. What could possibly go wrong."

Holly stared at Harry, "Harry, every year, we've had terrible Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, except with Moony, and he had his furry little problem. We can't trust Moody."

"Hol, if Moody makes you uncomfortable, don't go, but I am. I'll tell him you had detention or something."

"Thanks, Harry, be careful around him."

"I will."

After that, Holly went back to the library to do more research on the dragons. After a while, Viktor came and plopped down in the chair opposite her and sighed; Holly glanced up from the book she was reading, "Are you, okay, Viktor?"

"Da, I am taking break from studying about dragons."

"Do you know how you're going to face the dragon? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No, I do not mind, but I must varn you that I plan on winning."

"That's fine with me, Viktor, Harry, and I only want to survive this. I have no interest in eternal glory or the prize money."

Viktor nods, "I plan on going in and be direct and use force. But it depends on Vhat dragon I get. Vhat are you going to do?"

Holly shrugs, "I don't know yet. I thought of using my speed and agility to avoid the dragon and a few transfiguration spells."

Viktor looked at Holly, concerned, "Vill that be enough?"

"I hope so," Holly closed her book and looked into Viktor's eyes, "You know, this weekend is our Hogsmead visit and um, I was wondering if you wanted to go with me?"

Viktor crossed his arms and smirked at Holly, "Are you asking me out on a date?"

"No, just two friends spending time together," Holly said, blushing furiously.

Viktor leaned forward and took Holly's hands. He looked her in the eyes and kissed her knuckles, "I vould luff to go vith you to Hogsmead."

Holly smiles brightly, "Great!"

"Let us meet the front doors Saturday morning after breakfast," Viktor tells her.

"Alright."

Holly and Viktor talk until the library closes. He gives her a few spells that might be useful with her speed and agility. Viktor knew that if Karkaroff found out he was helping Holly, he would get into a lot of trouble. But Viktor didn't want anything to happen to Holly. Once the library closed, Viktor walks Holly to Gryffindor Tower; he kisses her hand then leaves for his ship. Holly sighed and walked through the portrait hole. Holly didn't answer Hermione and Ginny, who called her as she made her way up to the dorms. Hermione and Ginny looked at each other and decided to go upstairs to talk with Holly.

When they arrived, Holly was already in bed, "Is there something the matter, Hol," Hermione asked.

"No, Mione, nothing's wrong. Everything's brilliant," Holly said with a smile.

"What happened," Ginny asked.

"I saw Viktor in the library and asked him if he wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me on Saturday."

Ginny's mouth fell open, "You asked him?"

"Yes, I did," Holly tells her friend proudly.

"Judging by that smile, he accepted," Hermione said

"Yes, he did."

"Good for you, Holly," Ginny tells her.

"Thank you,"

"So, is this a date?"

"I don't know, maybe," Holly says then blushes.

Ginny squeals and embraces Holly, "Your first date, and it's with Viktor Krum!"

"Shh, I don't want the whole tower to know," Holly says.

"Right, well, you have to let me get ready on Saturday for your date," Ginny tells her.

Holly sighs, "Alright, Ginny, as long as you don't go overboard."

"Trust me, Viktor is going to die when he sees you."

"Okay, well, girls, I'm tired. I want to go to bed, goodnight."

With that, Ginny left, and Hermione went to get ready for bed.

The rest of the week was a blur for Holly. She was distracted about the first task and her date with Viktor. She wasn't sure what her plan for the dragon was going to work. Holly needed someplace to practice, but where? Luckily Luna Lovegood came to the rescue.

Luna had seen Holly practicing her gymnastics but could see that Holly was getting frustrated, and Luna decided to talk with Holly. She mentioned that the Wrackspurts were confusing Holly; that's why she couldn't do her tumbling right.

"Maybe you're right, Luna."

"What you need is the Come and Go Room," Luna said in her dreamy voice.

"Come and Go Room?"

"Yes, come with me, and I'll show you."

Holly shrugged and followed Luna. They went to the seventh-floor corridor and Luna pacing in front of a wall three times. Holly thought Luna was weird until a door appeared. When Luna opened the door, Holly gasped. Inside the room was a gymnastics room with everything that would help Holly train.

"What is this place?"

"The Come and Go Room, also known as the Room of Requirement. It will turn into whatever the person needs it to be."

"This is perfect, Luna, thank you."

"You're welcome; This room should help keep the Wrackspurts away from you."

"Um, Okay, thanks again."

"Would you mind if I watch," Luna asks.

"Not at all."

Holly found a locker that had dragon hide gloves that would protect her hands. She warmed up and stretched, then put her Holly placed her wand in her holster. She began her tumbling using springboards to get the height she needed and doing flips, then landing and casting spells. Holly practiced for two hours later called it a day. Luna told her she was very impressed with her abilities and hoped that she won.

"I'll be happy if I don't get roasted."

The rest of the week went by in a blur for Holly; she couldn't wait for the weekend. When the weekend rolled around, Holly was in her dorm, getting ready for her date with Viktor. Ginny curled her long auburn hair and had applied a little bit of makeup. Holly decided to wear a pair of black skinny jeans, a red turtle neck, and black boots. She grabbed her black wool coat and headed downstairs with Hermione and Ginny for breakfast.

Viktor was talking to his friends when he noticed Holly walked into the Great Hall his mouth fell open at how lovely Holly looked. Aleksandur laughed and patted Viktor on the back. Zatvori ustata si, Viktor, shte khvanesh mukhi. (Close your mouth, Viktor, you'll catch flies.) Viktor glared at his friend, who laughed. Holly looked over when she heard laughing and saw that Viktor was staring at her; she blushed prettily.

The girls went and sat down at the table with Harry and Neville. Ron sat with Dean and Seamus, still glaring at Holly and Harry. Harry glared back, "He's never going to get over this, is he?"

"Give Ron some time. Eventually, he'll realize how stupid he's being," Ginny tells Harry.

Harry nods and notices how his sister is dressed, "Where are you going all dressed up?"

"What do you mean, Today is Hogsmeade visit," Holly tells her twin.

Harry nods and thinks nothing else of it.

After they eat breakfast, Holly makes her way out of the Great Hall to wait for Viktor. A few moments later, Holly feels someone touch her elbow, she turns around and comes face to chest with Viktor. Holly smiles up at him. "Good morning, Viktor."

"Good morning, Holly. You look beautiful."

"Thank you; you look very handsome."

Viktor smiles down at her, he then offers his arm, "Shall ve go?"

Holly takes his arm, "Yes, let's get going."

Holly and Viktor decide to walk down to Hogsmeade instead of taking the carriages so that they can talk and enjoy each other's company. When they get to the village, Holly begins to drag Viktor around to all the shops. She shows him Honeydukes Sweetshop; they spend a couple of minutes in there buying some candy. Zonko's Joke Shop. Holly laughed at all the pranks that the twins were buying, and Viktor thought that her laugh was the sweetest sound he had ever heard. She then dragged Viktor to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, where Holly buys some extra quills. Holly and Viktor went into Dervish and Banges, magical instruments, and looked around. Holly took Viktor to see the Shrieking Shack, which was supposed to be the most haunted place in all of Britain. Viktor looked at her with a raised eyebrow, Holly only shrugged. But he loved how her emerald eyes sparkled as she told him all about the building and Hogsmeade.

At lunch, they went to the Three Broomsticks to get something to eat and have some butter beers. While they were enjoying their lunch, Harry, Hermione, and Neville came in. Harry looked around and spotted Holly with Viktor in the corner, having lunch together. Harry turned red and started walking towards them until Hermione grabbed his arm.

"Harry, don't. Don't ruin this for Holly."

"But that's Viktor Krum."

"So?"

"He's too old for her."

"Oh come off it, Harry, he's only three years older than Holly. And he's very respectful. Harry, she likes him, don't interfere."

Harry huffs, "Fine."

Harry takes a seat on the far side of the room from Holly and Viktor so that he can easily spy on them. Hermione rolls her eyes and orders their lunch. After lunch, Holly and Viktor sit there and talk for a while and drink butter beers. As they sit there drinking their butter beers, Viktor reaches out and takes Holly's hand, "So, Tell me, Holly, what classes do you like?"

"I like Transfigurations and Defense Against the Dark Arts. My Godfather says that my dad was good at Transfigurations and DADA while my mom was good at Charms and Potions. Harry's good at Charms and DADA. What about you?"

"I am good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Transfigurations. Potions I do fairly well."

"I think I would to if Professor Snape didn't hate me."

Viktor's brow furrows, "Vhy does he hate you?"

"I don't know, but he's always treated Harry and me like crap."

Viktor's eyes narrow, he didn't like the thought of anyone treating Holly poorly.

Holly noticed that Viktor was getting angry and squeezed his hand, "It's okay Viktor, after four years of his crap, I've learned to ignore him."

"I still do not like it."

"Tell me about Bulgaria."

Viktor brightens, "I live in the magical community of Sofia. It is the capital of Bulgaria. It is a beautiful city located below Vitosha Mountain. The city's landmarks reflect more than 2,000 years of history, including Greek, Roman, Ottoman and Soviet occupation. Medieval Boyana Church has 13th-century frescoes. Built by the Romans in the 4th century, St. George Rotunda Church has medieval and Ottoman decoration dating to the 10th century. I think you vould like it."

"And your family?"

"I live with my Mama and Papa, and I have two siblings, a younger brother, and sister. My father's name is Marko, and my mother is Anna. My little brother's name is Yosif, and my little sister is Sofija. They are nine and six."

As they head back to the castle, Holly shivered. Viktor noticed and put his arm around her, causing Holly to look up at him and blush. He smiled down at her and pulled her closer. Holly couldn't help but think that Viktor had a beautiful smile. As they made their way up towards the castle, Holly and Viktor suddenly heard yipping coming towards them. Out of the forest came Archimedes. He jumped into Holly's arms and licked her face, causing Holly to laugh. The arctic fox reached out and licked Viktor's face as well as stunning the boy and causing Holly to laugh harder. Viktor chuckled and took the fox from Holly. Archimedes climbed up onto Viktor's shoulder and draped himself over his shoulder, claiming Viktor as his.

When they got to the castle, Viktor walked Holly to Gryffindor Tower, "I had a vonderful time, Holly."

"So did, Viktor, thank you."

"No, thank you. I look forvard to spending more time vith you."

"Me too."

Viktor then kisses Holly's cheek, "Goodnight, malŭk gŭlŭb," Viktor says, then turns around to leave.

Holly calls after him, "Viktor, what does that mean?"

He smirks, "I vill tell you some other time."

When Viktor disappears down the stairs, Holly turns to the fat lady to give the password. The painting smirks at her, "He's got it bad for you, dearie."

Holly blushes and gives the password and goes inside. 


	8. First Task

Holly made her way into the portrait hole and discovered that Hermione and Ginny were waiting for her in the Common Room. Hermione looked up from the book she was reading and smiled at her best friend, "So how did your date go?"

Holly takes off her coat and flops down on the couch next to Hermione, "Brilliant, Viktor is a great guy."

"What did you two do?"

"I showed him around Hogsmeade, and we talked. He told me about his family in Bulgaria and about the town he lives in."

"What else did you do?" Ginny asked.

"He held my hand and walked me back, and then Viktor kissed me on the cheek."

"That's so cute," Hermione said.

"Cute? That's boring," Ginny remarks.

"Ginny! Viktor's trying to be respectful," Hermione tells the younger girl.

Holly ignores Ginny's comment, "Well, I'm off to bed."

"Goodnight, Holly, and I'm happy for you.," Hermione tells her.

"Thank you, Hermione."

The days go by, and Holly continues to train in the Room of Requirement. She told Harry about it, but he said that Professor Moody was helping him, even though he wasn't supposed to. Holly didn't like that idea, but she couldn't persuade her brother to stop going to Moody. In between training, Holly would spend her time with Viktor. They would talk about everything. Eventually, Holly felt comfortable enough with Viktor to tell him about her and Harry's life with the Dursleys. To say that Viktor was angry was an understatement.

"How could that idiot Headmaster leave two babies on the front step on a cold November night, then never bother to check on you to see how you ver being treated?"

"I guess he thought that as long as the blood wards worked, we were safe."

"That is no excuse."

"I know it isn't, but in the end, the Dursleys got what they deserved. Once Sirius was cleared of all the charges, Harry and I filed charges against the Dursleys. There was enough evidence in the house to find them guilty and our Uncle's ravings when the police dragged him away, sealed their fate. Dudley was placed in foster care as his aunt was convicted as well for allowing her dogs to attack us."

Viktor calmed down, "Good, that is no less than they deserve. I am glad that you are safe now, Holly," Viktor said as he ran his thumb across her cheek. Holly blushed. Viktor put his arm around Holly, and they continued their walk.

Finally, November 24th rolled around, and it was time for the first task. The crowds are cheering; people are taking bets. The champions are gathered in the tent nervously, waiting for the task to begin. Harry is pacing back and forth, while his sister has her eyes closed and is doing breathing exercises.

'This is just like any other competition. I need to center myself, focus on the task at hand, and give my all.' Holly thought, 'But you've never faced a fire breathing dragon before,' Holly shook that thought away. Instead, she started stretching.

The other champions looked at her oddly, wondering what Holly was doing except for Harry, and he realized that she was going to depend mostly on her gymnastics and agility to get her through this. Harry suddenly felt terrible because he had been so worried about himself that he hadn't bothered to check on how Holly was going to get through this challenge.

Harry and Holly watched as Professor Sprout sat with Cedric, trying to calm his nerves while Karkaroff spoke harshly to Viktor. Madame Maxime rubbed Fleur's shoulders, which left the Potter twins alone. But they were used to it and took comfort and strength from each other. It helped though that Hermione was able to sneak into the tent and give them each a hug and some words of encouragement.

When Dumbledore came in with Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch, the champions knew their time had come, "Good day champions. Gather round, please. Now you've waited, you've wondered and at last, the moment has arrived. The moment only five of you can fully appreciate."

The champions gather around Dumbledore in a circle.

Dumbledore sees Hermione and does a double-take, "What are you doing here, Miss Granger?"

"Oh, um. Sorry I'll go," And Hermione quickly exits the tent.

"Ludo, if you would."

"Well, now we're all here, time to fill you in!" said Bagman brightly. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag" He held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it at them, "from which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different — er — varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too, ah, yes, your task is to collect the golden egg!"

Harry glanced around. Cedric had nodded once, to show that he understood Bagman's words, and then started pacing around the tent; he looked slightly green. Holly's eyes flashed to Viktor, who looked stoned face but quickly met her eyes.

"Ladies first," he said, offering it to Fleur Delacour.

She put a shaking hand inside the bag and drew out a tiny, perfect model of a dragon — a Welsh Green with a number two on it.

"Miss Potter," Ludo says.

Holly takes a deep breath and using all her Gryffindor courage to reach inside the bag to pull out- The Peruvian Vipertooth with the number five on it.

"Mr. Krum, if you will," Viktor reaches in and pulls out- The Chinese fireball with the number three on it.

Cedric goes next and pulls out- The Swedish short-snout with the number one on it.

"Which leaves."

"The Horntail," Harry mumbles.

"What boy," Barty asks.

"Nothing," Harry says.

Harry puts his hand in the bag and pulls out the dragon.

"The Hungarian horntail. These represent very real dragons, each of which, as we said earlier, have been given a golden egg to protect.  
Your objective is simple, collect the egg. This you must do, for each egg contains a clue without which you cannot hope to proceed to the next task. Any questions?"

All the Champions shake their head no.

"Very well. Good luck, champions. Mr. Diggory, the sound of the cannon," Dumbledore tells him.

Moments later, the cannon goes off.

Cedric takes a deep breath and heads out.

Eventually, Holly is left allow in the tent. After thinking over her plan, Holly begins to feel that it's not going to work, and she may end up dying. But if she's going to die, Holly is not going down without a fight.

When Harry's task is over, Holly gets ready to go out. The canon goes off, and Holly takes a deep breath. Holly takes a deep breath and walks out; she sees the Peruvian Vipertooth. It is the smallest and fastest known breed of dragon, about fifteen feet in length. The minute Holly walks out into the arena, Holly cast a freezing spell under the dragon's feet, causing it to slip and fall. That gives Holly time to cast the gemino curse on herself. She makes copies of herself that run off in different directions. Holly then transfigures the rocks into springboards to give her extra height as she vaults over objects.

The Vipertooth gets up anger and lunges for the first 'Holly' that is closest to it. The minute the dragon bites down on the imposter, Holly begins to multiply at an alarming rate. While the dragon is distracted going after the false Hollys, and they lead the dragon further from the nest, the real Holly uses the springboards to vault and flip over all of the objects and rocks until she makes it to the nest and picks up the golden egg. Once she's picked up the egg, the handlers come in and get the dragon out of the arena.

The crowd explodes, cheering madly for Holly as Madam Pomfrey rushes in and takes Holly to the medical tent to exam her, "Dragons!" she said, in a disgusted tone, pulling Holly inside. The tent was divided into cubicles; she could make out Cedric's shadow through the canvas, but Cedric didn't seem to be severely injured; he was sitting up, at least. Madam Pomfrey examined Holly's arm, where she scraped it, talking all the while furiously. "Last year dementors, this year dragons, what are they going to bring into this school next? You're fortunate this is quite shallow. It'll need cleaning before I heal it up, though."

Harry walked into the cubicle where his sister was; his arm was in a sling, "Are you alright, Holly?"

"I'm fine, Harry, just a scratch."

At that moment, Hermione and Ron come into the cubicle where the twins were. "Holly, Harry, that was brilliant. You were amazing on your broom, Harry. And Holly how you used the gemino curse to confuse the dragon and the springboards was ingenious. I would never have thought of it," Hermione gushed.

Ron stood behind, Hermione looking down at the ground. He finally looked up at the twins, who had been staring at him the whole time. Ron cleared his throat, "Harry, Holly," he said, very seriously, "whoever put your names in that goblet, I, I reckon they're trying to do you in!"

"Caught on, have you?" said Harry coldly. "Took you long enough."

"Wasn't just me who thought you'd done t. Everyone was saying it behind your back," Ron said as if that justified his actions.

"Yes, but you're our friend. We thought that at least you would believe us," Holly spat.

"I'm sorry," Ron said.

"Forget it."

"No, Holly's right," said Ron, "I shouldn't' have —"

"Forget it," Harry said.

Holly stared at Harry, then she looked at Ron, "Harry may have forgiven you, but I haven't. Those are just pretty words, Ron. You need to prove to me that you're actually sorry," With that, Holly jumped off the table and left the cubicle.

"She isn't going to forgive me easily, is she," Ron asked.

"No, she isn't, you deeply hurt her, and you know how Holly can hold a grudge," Hermione said.

As she was about to walk out of the tent, Viktor reached out and grabbed Holly, "Are you alright, Holly," Viktor asked, "You are not hurt?"

Holly sniffled, "I'm fine, Viktor, I have a little scratch, that's all."

"Then vhy are you crying?"

"My friend, Ron, thinks that he can call Harry and me cheat and simply waltz back here and say that he's sorry and all is forgiven. Harry may have forgiven him, but I can't. He hurt me deeply, calling me a cheat and a liar."

Viktor's eyes turned cold, "How dare he, did he not know that you svore on your magic that you did not put your name in the goblet?"

"I guess that wasn't good enough for him? I told him that if he wants my forgiveness, he's going to have to prove to me that he means it."

"I think that you are correct, malŭk gŭlŭb, otherwise he could turn on you again."

"Thank you, Viktor, for understanding."

"You are velcome, Holly," Viktor tells her then hugs her.

Suddenly they see a flash, and they both look up.

"Ah, young love, this will make a great article." Rita Skeeter says

Holly reaches for the camera, but the cameraman runs away.

Holly sighs and lets go of Viktor, "I better go find out what my score is."

It turns out that Holly was tied with Viktor for 1st place, and Harry came in 2nd. Cedric and Fleur followed it. Back at the Gryffindor Tower, a celebration was being held in honor of the Potter twins. The house-elves brought all kinds of food and butterbeer. They hoisted Holly and Harry onto their shoulders and paraded them around the Common Room.

"We knew you wouldn't die, Harry," George said.

"Lose a leg."

"Or an arm."

"Pack it all together."

"NEVER," The twins say.

"But you, dear Holly, were incredible. What was all the flippy thing you were doing," George asked.

"Gymnastics. It's a Muggle sport. I've been doing that since I was four."

"Well, whatever it is, you were fantastic," Angelina tells Holly.

"And the gemino curse was genius." Katie Bell tells her.

The Gryffindors cheer, and Harry asks them if they want them to open the egg. Holly and Harry open their eggs, and a horrible screeching sound comes out of it. The twins quickly close their eggs

"What the bloody hell was that," Harry asks.

"I don't know," Holly tells her brother, "But somehow, it's out next clue."


	9. The Yule Ball

The next morning at breakfast, Hermione was fuming, as she read the newspaper, "Look at this! I can't believe it. She's done it again.  
Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to be developing a taste for famous wizards, was seen cuddling with our beloved Harry Potter before the First Task. While later on, The-Girl-Who-Live was found in the arms of that Bulgarian bon-bon Viktor Krum. Could romance be brewing for these young couples?"

Holly rolled her eyes at Hermione, getting upset over a stupid article, "Hermione, let them think what they want. Skeeter is going to print whatever lies she wants, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Hermione huffs, "Well, I won't stand for it, and I'm going to find a way to stop her."

"Good luck to you," Holly tells her as she takes a drink of her pumpkin juice.

At that moment, Nigel comes over with a package, "Parcel for you, Mr. Weasley."

"Thank you, Nigel."

But Nigel stands there gazing at Harry and Holly, "Not now, Nigel, later, go on. I told him I'd get him Harry and Holly's autograph."

Holly glared at Ron, she slams her cup down and gets up and walks out of the Great Hall.

"What's wrong with her?" Ron asks.

Hermione gives Ron an incredulous look, "Using her fame for your own advantage is not endearing yourself to her, Ronald."

Ron at least had the tact to blush.

Holly makes her way up to Gryffindor Tower and goes into her dorm. Archimedes looks up from his place on her bed and wags his tail. She smiles at her familiar and scratches him behind the ear, "Come on, boy, let's go down to the lake."

The arctic fox yips and jumps off her bed. He runs to the door and looks back at Holly to make sure she's following him. Holly laughs and grabs the golden egg. Holly thought that while she was down at the lake, she would try to figure out the clue.

Holly and Archimedes walk out of the castle and head down to the lake; she sits down by the shore and opens the egg again. It begins to screech back, and Holly quickly closes it. She sighs and places the egg next to her. How were they supposed to figure out the clue if all it does is yell?

Holly starts tossing stones into the lake and isn't paying attention to Archimedes, who is walking on a log that is sticking out of the lake. Archimedes yelps when he loses his balance and falls into the lake.

"Archimedes!"

Without thinking, Holly dives into the lake and begins to swim towards the fox. At that moment, Viktor comes out onto the deck of his ship, holding his golden egg. He hears Holly yell for Archimedes, looking over at the lake, Viktor eyes widen when he sees Holly swimming in the freezing water towards the struggling fox.

"Holly!"

Viktor jumps off his ship into the water with the egg in his arm. He lets go of the egg and begins to swim towards Holly and Archimedes. Viktor grabs Holly, who has a hold of Archimedes and helps them to shore. Holly pushes Archimedes onto shore then watches as Viktor goes back into the water.

"What are you doing?"

"I dropped the egg, I haff to get it back."

"Then, I'm going to help you."

"No, Holly, stay here."

Viktor dives into the lake, and Holly goes with him. They swim down as far as they can go but can't see the egg. Suddenly a tentacle comes out of the darkness. The giant squid has the eggs in its grasp and hands it to Viktor. When he does, the egg opens, and the egg begins to sing.

"Come seek us where our voices sound. We cannot sing above the ground. An hour-long, you'll have to look, to recover what we took."

Holly and Viktor look at each other and head for the surface with the help of the giant squid. The squid lays them on the shore; it waves at them and disappears under the water. Viktor moves towards Holly, "Are you alright, Holly?"

Holly coughs, "Yeah, I'm alright, Viktor. Are you?"

"Da, I am fine. That was foolish of you to come after me."

"I know, but I wanted to help you get your egg back."

Viktor shook his head in disbelief. He turned over on his back and sighed. Holly took out her wand and cast a drying spell on both of them. Viktor looked at her, "Vell, at least now ve know what the second clue is. There are mermaids in this lake, Da?"

"As far as I know, yes," Holly tells him.

"Now, ve need to figure out what they vill take from us and how to breathe under vater for an hour."

Holly sighed, "That should be easy enough."

Viktor looked at Holly and laughed, "Da, it should be quite easy."

Viktor stood up and offered his hand to Holly and helped her up. Once she was on her feet, Archimedes came running over to Holly and jumped into her arms. The little fox was still shivering from the cold. Holly quickly casts a drying and warming spell on him until he stopped shaking.

Holly looked up at Viktor, "Thank you for helping me save Archimedes."

"Anytime, Holly."

"I better take him inside," Holly tells Viktor. But before she leaves, Holly leans up and kisses Viktor on the cheek. Holly blushes and quickly walks away. She didn't see the goofy smile on Viktor's face as he stared after her.

As Holly is walking back to Gryffindor Tower, she is suddenly cornered by Viktor's headmaster, Igor Karkaroff. Holly looks up at the tall man in surprise, "Is there something I can do for you, Headmaster?"

Karkaroff scowls down at Holly, "I vont you to stay away from Viktor Potter. I know vot you are trying to do. You are trying to distract him so you can win this tournament. Vell, I'm not going to let you. Accidents happen to meddlesome little girls."

"Karkaroff!"

Holly and Karkaroff turn and see Professor Moody standing there, "What do you think you're doing with Potter?"

"Just haffing a friendly chat with the girl. Mad-Eye."

"Looks to me like you were threatening her. You alright there, Potter?"

Holly nods, "Go on, get back to your dorm," Moody tells Holly.

Holly ducks under Karkaroff's arm and hurries past him and Moody. The last thing she heard was Professor Moody threatening Karkaroff. Holly decided that she wasn't going to tell Viktor anything.

When she got back to Gryffindor Tower, she decided that Harry needed to know about how to get the clue from the egg. But how was he going to listen to it if all they had were showers? Nevertheless, Holly was going to tell him how she heard it. She wasn't going to tell her brother what she heard, that would be cheating, but at least give him a hint on how to listen to it.

Holly told Harry what happened at the lake, and he stared at her in disbelief, "You jumped in the lake to hear the egg?"

"No, I jumped in the lake to save Archimedes."

"Why didn't you use the summoning charm?"

"Because I don't know that one, I learned the gemino curse, remember?"

"Right. So you're saying I need to be underwater to hear the next clue, why don't you tell me what it says?"

"Because that's cheating. You need to figure it out on your own."

"How?"

"Maybe Cedric can get you into the Prefect's bath; he owes you for telling him about the dragons," Holly tells Harry.

Harry thinks about it, "Yeah, maybe you're right, Thanks, Hol."

"Anytime, Har-Bear."

On Monday, when Holly and Hermione found McGonagall's classroom rearranged, they wondered what was going on. The girls sat on one side of the room while the boys sat on the other. Professor McGonagall walked in and gathered everyone's attention.

"The yule ball has been a tradition of the Tri-Wizard Tournament since its inception. On Christmas eve night, our guests and we gather in the great hall for well-mannered frivolity. As representatives of the host school, I expect each and every one of you to put your best foot forward, and I mean this literally because the yule ball is first and foremost... a dance."

Groans emerge from the boys who are listening on. The girls seem a lot more excited. Holly and Hermione look at each other and roll their eyes, "Silence. The house of Godric Gryffindor has commanded the respect of the wizarding world for nearly ten centuries. I will not have you in the course of a single evening besmirching that name by behaving like a babbling, bumbling band of baboons." Professor McGonagall says.

Holly watched as Fred and George whispered to each other. She leaned over to Hermione, "I wonder what those two are whispering about?"

"Nothing good."

Suddenly Professor McGonagall grabs Ron to show the others how to dance and then instructs the entire class to grab a partner and follow along. Harry and Holly start dancing together, and starting laughing at everyone else stumbles around the room. McGonagall gives them a stern look. When class is over, everyone flees for their lives.

The next month is spent with everyone trying to find dates for the Yule Ball. Harry and Ron are having a hard time working up the courage to ask the girls out, while the Durmstrang boys do it with ease. While this is going on, Holly and Viktor are getting closer. They spend most of their free time together, whether it's in the library studying or playing with Archimedes or sitting by the lake talking for hours. On those days, they would use warming charms to keep warm against the chill. Though Viktor swore, it didn't bother him.

One day as Hermione and Holly were studying in the library, Viktor came in with his friend Aleksandur. The girls looked up from their studies as the boys stopped in front of them. Aleksandur bowed and took Hermione's hand, "Miss Granger, vould you do me the honor of going to the Yule Ball vith me?" Aleksandur asked.

Hermione turned bright red and stared at the young man for a moment. She smiled at him, "It would be my pleasure, Aleksandur."

Aleksandur smiled and kissed her hand, then asked Hermione if she wouldn't mind taking a walk with him. Hermione quickly packed up her bag and left with him. Holly smiled and went back to studying; suddenly, her quill was transfigured into a red rose, she looked up at Viktor who had a smile on his face. Viktor knelt beside Holly and took her hand, "Holly Potter, vould you give me the greatest honor of accompanying me to the Yule Ball?"

Holly was so happy she couldn't help herself, she hugged Viktor and kissed his cheek, startling the young man, "I would love to be your date."

"Thank you," Viktor said.

After that, they spent the rest of the afternoon talking and holding hands. When they left the library, Holly quickly ran up to the tower so that she could write a quick letter to her aunt Andromeda Tonks. She had to tell someone about her date with Viktor, and Holly sure wasn't going to tell Sirius or Remus. Once Holly had written the note, she went to the owlery to have Hedwig take it to Andromeda.

It didn't take long for Andromeda to reply to Holly's letter. She was so happy for her niece and was excited to take her shopping for her gown. Andromeda had made arrangments with Professor McGonagall to take Holly, Hermione, and Ginny to Paris to go shopping for their dresses. They were going to use a portkey to the wizarding district in Paris on the day that everyone went to Hogsmeade. Hermione and Ginny protested, but Andromeda wouldn't hear of it.

The Hogsmeade visit was two weeks before the Yule Ball. The girls got up early and made their way to the Hogwarts gates, where Andy is waiting for them. They would have breakfast in Paris so that they don't waste time. Professor McGonagall tells the girls that they have to be back by dinner. Once they reach the gates, they greet Andy; she hugs Holly and the girls.

"I'm so excited for you, your first formal ball. I can't wait to take your girls shopping."

"Thank you again, Mrs. Tonks, for inviting us," Hermione says.

"Oh, my dear, it's my pleasure, and please, call me Andy. Are you girls ready?"

The girls nod, Andy pulls out a hubcap, and they each grab onto it. They feel a tug behind their navel and are whisked away to Paris. When they land in Paris, the first thing Andy does is take the girls out for breakfast. After that, she takes them to an exclusive shop that has the latest fashions for young witches. Andy tells the girls to pick out anything they want.

Andy takes Holly by the arm and starts leading her around the shop, "Thank you so much for doing this, Andy," Holly says.

"It's my pleasure, Holly. You know I never got to do this with Nymphadora, she's never been a girlie girl, and she never let me do this kind of thing with her."

"Well, I've never had a mother to do these sorts of things with, and I'm happy to do them with you, Andy."

"Thank you, Holly."

The girls spent several hours browsing and trying on dresses. They stopped for lunch and then continued to another shop. In the end, all three girls found the perfect dresses, shoes, and accessories. At the appropriate time, Andy and the girls headed back to Hogwarts with their dresses shrunk down and placed in their purses. The girls kissed Andy and went back to Hogwarts to put their dresses away, then went down to dinner.

As The Ball got closer, Harry and Ron were getting desperate. Harry asked Cho, but it turned out that she already had a date, and Harry was devastated. He was about to give up hope when Harry saw Parvati Patel looking at him, and Harry came up with a brilliant idea to ask her, and Ron could take Parvati's sister Padma.

On the day of the ball, the girls started getting ready four hours before the ball, Holly showered and did her makeup while Lavender helped her do her hair. She helped Holly curl her hair and put it up in an elegant bun with a sprig of baby's breath in it. Once, Holly, had her hair and makeup done, she helped the other girls get ready and do their hair and makeup. When they were all ready, they got dressed. The other girls were in awe of the dresses that Holly, Hermione, and Ginny had. Holly had chosen a green off the should gown that brought out her emerald eyes, while Ginny chose a sleeveless Burgandy gown, and Hermione chose a purple sleeveless dress.

Once the girls were ready, they made their way downstairs to meet their dates. Standing outside the Great Hall stood Viktor, Aleksandur, Cedric, Neville, Harry, and Ron. Harry and Ron were pacing. While Cedric leaned up against the wall, Viktor and Aleksandur were talking. Viktor had his back to the stairs, "Nervni li ste, priyatelyu? (Are you nervous, my friend?)" Alek asked Viktor.

"Ne, nyamam tŭrpenie da vidya Kholi, tova e vsichko. (No, I can't wait to see Holly, that's all.)"

Aleksandur gave Viktor a wicked grin, "E, Viktor, nyama da se nalaga da chakash poveche. (Well, Viktor, you won't have to wait anymore.)"

With that, Viktor turned around, his eyes widened, and his breath was caught in his throat. Holly was a vision of loveliness; the color of her dress made her emerald eyes sparkled. She was looking around for him, and when Holly spotted Viktor, her eyes lit up. Viktor stood there for a moment, dumbfounded until Aleksandur gave him a little push. Viktor recovered and made his way over to Holly. Harry looked between his sister and the Bulgarian Seeker, but the couple only had eyes for each other.

Viktor's eyes never left Holly's. He walked up the steps and took Holly's hand, kissing it, "You look vonderful, Holly."

Holly blushed, "Thank you, Viktor. You look very handsome."

Viktor smiled down at Holly, then offered his arm. She slipped her arm, in, his arm and they walked towards the door where Professor McGonagall was waiting for the Champions. Aleksandur and Hermione, along with Ron and the others, went into the Great Hall.

Once the Champions lined up, McGonagall makes an announcement, "It's traditional that the three champions or in this case five are the first to dance."

They nod, and she opens the door. The music starts to play, and the Champions glide into the Great Hall, and the dance begins. Viktor gracefully guides Holly along the dance floor, while her brother stumbles about with Parvati. Holly feels sorry for her brother, but she can't help but enjoy herself with Viktor. As they dance, out of the corner of her eye, Holly sees Sirius and Remus standing by the refreshment table. Remus has a smile on his face while Sirius is scowling at the couple.

Remus leans over to Sirius, "Love, stop it, you're going to ruin Holly's night."

"I can't help it, Moony, she's only a baby."

Remus laughs and kisses Sirius' cheek, "Holly's not a baby anymore, Siri. She's growing up; boys are bound to find her attractive. Especially since she looks like Lily."

"Yes, but does it have to be that boy?"

"At least she isn't interested in Malfoy. Face it Padfoot; they like each other," Remus tells him, "She looks at him the way Lily used to look at James when they got married."

"Oh, bloody hell, no, she is not getting married!" Sirius exclaims.

Remus rolled his eyes, "Come on, Padfoot, let's dance."

"Good idea, we can spy on them easier."

Remus smacks Sirius on the back of the head then leads him out onto the dancefloor.

Once the dance is over the Champions, sit down to a nice dinner. They talk amongst themselves for a while, enjoying each other's company. Once dinner is over, the tables are cleared, and everyone begins to dance. After what feels like hours of dancing, Holly and Viktor take a break, and Viktor and Aleksandur go to get some punch for him and Holly. While he's gone, Ron gets into an argument with Hermione about her being used by Aleksandur and that he's too old for her. But at that moment, Aleksandur comes back and steps between Hermione and Ron.

"I think you owe the lady an apology, friend."

Ron looks up at the tall, muscular Bulgarian, "I don't owe her anything."

Aleksandur sets the punch down and steps closer to Ron, "I believe you do. I vill not stand here and have you dishonor my date or me. Either you apologize, or I will make you."

Ron swallows, "No."

Aleksandur grabs Ron by the collar, but Remus and Sirius make their way over, "Hey, hey, what's going on?"

"Nothing, Remus, it's only a misunderstanding. It's alright, Alek, if Ron doesn't want to apologize, he doesn't have to."

Aleksandur looks down at Hermione and nods, he takes her hand and leads her to another table where Holly and Viktor are sitting.

Ron turns to Harry, "Can you believe her?"

"Yeah, I can, Ron, you deserve that. You had no right to say those things to Hermione."

Ron looks down, "Do you think Hermione will forgive me?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Harry tells his friend.

Ron looks over to where Hermione is with Aleksandur and sees that she's laughing and having a great time with him. He sighs, gets up, and leaves the ball, soon Harry follows him. He can't stand watching Cho with Cedric.

Back at Holly and Viktor's table, Hermione took no notice that Ron had left, she was too busy having fun with Aleksandur. He was kind, attentive, charming, and not to mention handsome with his dark hair and blue eyes. The two couples went back out onto the dancefloor and began dancing again until the Weird Sisters began to perform. Once they started to play, Viktor asked Holly if she wanted to take a walk with him.

"I would love to."

Viktor grabbed his cloak and draped it over Holly as they made their way outside, Sirius was about to follow them, but Remus grabbed him by his robes, "No, leave them alone, Padfoot."

"But-"

"No, buts. Leave Holly alone."

Sirius sighed and resigned himself.

Holly and Viktor walked into one of the courtyards and sat down on the bench. Holly looked up at Viktor and smiled, "I'm having a good time, Viktor."

"I am glad, Holly. It means a great deal to me that you agreed to go vith me to the ball. And now I have a question to ask you."

Holly started getting nervous. She licked her lips, "What did you want to ask me, Viktor?"

Viktor followed her tongue with his eyes, then he shook his head, "I vonted to ask you if you vould be my girlfriend."

Holly smiled, "I would love to be your girlfriend."

Viktor let out a sigh in relief, "May I kiss you now?"

"Yes."

Viktor cupped her face and leaned down. He gently pressed his lips to Holly's. Holly's eyes slid shut, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Viktor's other arm came around Holly's waist, and he pulled her closer.

"Potter!"

The couple instantly broke apart and stared at Snape who was standing behind them, "I believe that's fifty points from Gryffindor for inappropriate behavior."

"What?!"

"Shall we go for one hundred points?"

Viktor stood up and pushed Holly behind him, "I do not think that is necessary, Professor."

"I don't care what you think, Krum. Be glad I don't tell your headmaster."

Viktor gritted his teeth, "Yes, sir."

"Now, I suggest you two get back inside before I tell your guardians what you have been doing, Potter."

Holly was about to argue, but Viktor took her hand and led her inside. But as soon as they were out of sight of Snape, Viktor leaned down and kissed Holly again. He grinned at her and led her back into the Great Hall. 


	10. Comfort, Truce, and Apology

Holly and Viktor returned to the ball and continued to dance and talk. Viktor now held Holly closer and would lean down and peck her on the lips. She would smile up at him and lay her head on his chest. Remus, who was watching from his seat next to Sirius, would smile at seeing the young couple together. Remus finally got up and asked Viktor if he could cut in. Viktor graciously agreed and went to sit down with Aleksandur and Hermione.

Remus began to twirl Holly around the dancefloor, "I see that your young man finally asked you out."

"How did you know," Holly asked.

"Oh, please, Holly, I saw it on your face when you two came back in. You looked a lot happier."

"Do you think Sirius will mind?"

"Yes, but he's going to have to get over it. You're growing up and turning into a beautiful young woman. Frankly, if Viktor hadn't asked you to be his girlfriend, I would have been very shocked. I'm happy for you, Hol. and don't worry, I'll keep Sirius in line."

Holly laid her head on Remus' chest as they danced, "Thank you, Moony."

Remus kissed her head, "You're welcome, baby. Now, I should give you back to your young man; he's getting impatient."

Holly looked up and noticed that Viktor had stood up and was making his way over toward her and Remus. Holly giggled as Viktor stepped up and bowed to Remus, Remus stepped away from Holly, "Treat her right, Viktor."

"Always, Sir."

Remus patted Viktor's shoulder and walked towards Sirius, "What did you find out, Moony?" Sirius asked.

"Viktor asked Holly out."

"No."

"Yes, Siri, and no, there's nothing you can do about it."

"But-"

"I said no, Padfoot. Holly's happy, let her be happy."

Sirius huffed and crossed his arms, "Fine, but if he hurts her, I'm hexing him into oblivion."

Remus chuckled, "That's fine, Padfoot. I'll help you."

Holly and Viktor happily danced the rest of the evening together. They gazed into each other's eyes with so much affection. They would rest and talk with Hermione, and Aleksandur, who turned out, had a lot in common and were getting along very nicely. After the dance ended at the wee hours of the morning, both boys walked their dates back to Gryffindor Tower. Aleksandur kissed Hermione on the cheek then wished her a good night. Hermione blushed and did the same.

As he turned to leave, Aleksandur smirked at Viktor and patted him on the shoulder. Hermione went inside to give the new couple some privacy. Holly and Viktor stood facing each other, Viktor stroked Holly's cheek. "I had a vonderful time, Holly."

"So did I, Viktor. And I'm so happy you asked me to be your girlfriend."

"I am happy you accepted, moya malŭk gŭlŭb."

"Viktor, what does that mean?"

Viktor lowered his head and pecked Holly on the lips, "My little dove." He whispered.

She smiled up at Viktor, Holly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. Viktor wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to his body, lifting her slightly off the floor. They parted somewhat panting, Viktor placed his forehead against Holly's, "Goodnight, Holly."

"Goodnight, Viktor."

Viktor pecks Holly one more time before he leaves. Holly sighs; she gives the password and goes inside. She quietly makes her way up to the dorms, gets ready for bed, gets into bed, and goes to bed with a smile on her face.

Holly doesn't wake up until the afternoon. It's only her and Hermione still in bed when she wakes up. Holly goes to take a shower and get ready. When she comes out, Hermione and Ginny are waiting for her. Ginny has a smirk on her face, and Hermione is smiling at Holly, "So, how did it go last night?"

Holly smiled then looked at them seriously, "I don't know what you're talking about?"

"Oh, come on, we saw you leave with Viktor then come back in with this happy expression on your face," Ginny said.

"We went outside to cool down from all our dancing."

"I bet you did."

"Ginny! Alright, while we were outside, Viktor asked me to be his girlfriend. Then he kissed me."

Ginny squealed and fell on Holly's pillow. While Hermione got up and hugged Holly, "Congratulations, Holly."

"Thank you, Hermione, but Professor Snape ruined everything and took fifty points from Gryffindor."

"Snape is such a tosser," Ginny huffed.

"Ginny!" Hermione said indignantly

"Well, he is."

Holly shrugged, "It doesn't matter, Snape didn't ruin our moment, Viktor kissed me while we were going inside."

"And what did Remus tell you when you were dancing?"

"That he was happy for me, and he would keep Sirius in line."

Hermione and Ginny laughed.

"But tell me, Hermione, how was your night with Aleksandur?" Holly asked.

Hermione blushed bright red, "It was very nice."

"It more than nice from what I saw," Ginny said.

"What about you and Neville, Ginny?" Hermione countered.

"Oh, we had a wonderful time. Neville, a great dancer, but don't avoid the question, Mione, how was the other Bulgarian dream?"

"Oh, he's sweet and charming, so intelligent. He made me feel like the only girl in the room," Hermione said and sighed, "We talked all night. He wants to work for the Bulgarian Ministry of Magic. Later today, we're going to study in the library together."

Holly and Ginny looked at each other and grinned, "What about Ron?"

"What about Ron?"

"He didn't upset you too much last night?"

"Ron did at first, but after Alek defended me, I forgot all about him."

"Good, you deserve someone better than Ron," Holly tells her best friend, Ginny nods.

"What do you mean, I don't like Ron like that, he's only a friend. Especially after last night."

Holly and Ginny nod, "Well, shall we head downstairs, I'm sure Harry is going to love to hear the news."

Holly cringed, "I forgot about Harry."

Ginny giggled, and Hermione only shook her head and wrapped her arm around her best friend's waist as they left their dorm. When they got to the Common Room, they saw Harry and Ron playing chess. Harry looked up and smiled at his twin, "Hey, Hol, what time did you get in that you're barely getting up?"

"Um, around five this morning."

Harry's eyes widen, and he looks at Ron, "So how was your night, Holly?" Harry asks.

"It was good, Viktor and I had a lot of fun."

"I bet you did," Ron mumbled.

Holly's eyes narrowed, "What's that supposed to mean, Ronald?"

"Nothing."

"That's what I thought."

Harry ignored Ron, "So what else happened last night?"

"Viktor asked me to be his girlfriend, and I accepted."

Ron's head snapped up, "Why would he ask you?"

"Because we like each other," Holly tells her brother's best friend. She was getting sick and tired of Ron's snide comments.

"Or he's trying to use you to win the tournament, considering Krum is a famous Seeker he can have any witch in the world."

"What's wrong with you, Ronald," Hermione asks.

"Nothing, I'm only telling the truth, why would he want to go out with a fourth-year if he didn't want to get information or increase his fame?"

"He's not as conniving as you are Weasley. And he's not an attention-seeking tosser, like you," Holly says, then storms out of the Common Room with Hermione and Ginny following her.

Harry glares at Ron, "I can't believe you talked to my sister like that."

"What? You know it's true."

"No, I don't, and if you ever talk to my sister like that again, this friendship is over."

Ron looked at Harry, surprised, "You'd choose your sister over your best mate?"

Harry stood up, "Every time, Mate." Then he left to find his sister.

Holly ran down the stairs with Hermione and Ginny running after her, "Holly, wait!" Hermione yelled.

Viktor and Aleksandur were about to make their way up to Gryffindor Tower when they heard Hermione yelling for Holly. They saw Holly running down the stairs, looking very upset. She crashed into Viktor's hard chest, "Moya Malŭk Gŭlŭb(My Little Dove) Vhot is the matter?"

Holly looked up and realized it was Viktor and hugged him tightly and cried. He looked up at Hermione and Ginny, who had arrived, "Vhot happened to Holly?"

"My brother said some horrible things to her about you," Ginny said.

Viktor's eyes narrowed, "Vhot, did your brother say?"

Hermione and Ginny looked at each other, they didn't want Ron to get beaten up, but Viktor had a right to know what was upsetting Holly. So, they told Viktor what happened. Viktor's face began to turn red with anger; he was about to make his way upstairs until Aleksandur grabbed his shoulder, "Viktor, ne mozhesh, Kholi imash nuzhda ot teb. (Viktor, you can't, Holly needs you.)"

Viktor looked down at the girl that was holding onto him for dear life. He frowned, "Come, Moya Malŭk Gŭlŭb (My Little Dove), let us go to Hogsmeade, and talk."

Holly looked up at Viktor with tears in her eyes. He wiped her tears away with his thumb then kissed her. Holly nodded, and Viktor led her away. Aleksandur, Hermione, and Ginny begin to leave when Harry comes down the stairs looking for Holly. They stop and look at him.

"Where's my sister?" Harry asked.

"She left with Viktor to Hogsmeade." Hermione tells him, "If you plan to tell her the same thing that Ron did, don't. She upset enough as it is."

"No, of course not. I want to see how Holly is. Are you lot going to Hogsmeade as well?"

"Yes, do you want to come along?"

"Yeah, I need to talk to Holly and Viktor. Let me get my coat."

"While Harry does that, I'm going to ask Neville if he wants to go with us," Ginny tells the others. She goes into the Great Hall to talk to Neville.

A few minutes later, Aleksandur, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Harry make their way to Hogsmeade. They look for Holly and Viktor and find them in the Three Broomsticks having lunch. Holly looked much better, Viktor was making her laugh, and they were cuddling and kissing. Harry grimaced, but he knew he had to talk to his sister.

The group made their way over to the happy couple. Holly looked up at them and giggled as Viktor kissed her neck, "Hi, would you care to join us?"

"Are we disturbing you," Hermione asked.

"No, not at all, right, Viktor?"

Viktor sighed, and looked up, "No, the more, the merrier."

Aleksandur smirked at his friend. He pulled out a chair for Hermione while Neville did the same thing for Ginny. Harry sat opposite his sister. The waitress came over and took their order and left. She came pack with seven butterbeers.

Harry took a drink of his butterbeer then looked at his sister. He took a deep breath, "Holly, I want you to know that I didn't agree with anything that Ron said. I even told him that if he ever talked to you like that again that we wouldn't be friends anymore. I'm happy for you and Viktor."

Holly and Viktor looked at each other, "Thank you, Harry, that means a lot to me."

"Yes, Harry, That too means a lot to me. I vont you to know that I care a great deal for Holly. And I vish to make her happy."

"Good, because if you hurt my sister, I'll hex you into oblivion," Harry said.

"I vould expect nothing less," Viktor said, then shook Harry's hand.

"Well, since that's over, let's enjoy the rest of the afternoon," Hermione says when their food arrives.

They had their meal, walked around Hogsmeade, then went back to the castle, where they built a snowman, and had a snowball fight. When it finally got dark, they went to the kitchen to have some hot cocoa and something to eat. After that, Viktor and Aleksandur went to their ship but not without Viktor kissing Holly and Alek kissing Hermione's hand. Then the girls went through the portrait hole where they found Ron waiting for Holly.

"Holly, I, I wanted to apologize for what I said this morning. I shouldn't have said that."

"You've been doing that a lot, Ron. You need to learn to think before you speak. One day you're going to say something you're re going to regret truly."

"I know, please forgive me?"

"I'll think about it," Holly said.

"That's all I ask."

Holly nods and goes upstairs.


	11. The Second Task

Ever since the incident with Ron on Christmas day, the once-close relationship between the quartet seemed to cool somewhat. Holly had yet to forgive Ron for his insensitive comments about her relationship with Viktor, and she and Hermione spent more time with the Durmstrang boys, much to Ron's despair. Holly and Hermione were still friends with Ron, but there was a strain there that wasn't there before, and Ron knew that it was his fault.

While all this was going on, Holly and Viktor's relationship was blossoming. For New Year's Eve, the couple sat on the Astronomy Tower watching the fireworks that the professors were setting off. It was rare to see one without the other. Viktor started walking Holly to all of her classes, and he and Aleksandur would now eat their meals at the Gryffindor table with Holly and Hermione, much to the dislike of Ron and Karkaroff, but the boys would ignore the looks they would get from their headmaster and anyone else.

On Valentine's Day, Viktor planned a special dinner for him and Holly. He made arrangements with Dobby to have a candlelit dinner in one of the abandoned towers. He charmed a violin to play music softly in the background. Viktor also had the tower filled with scented candles and red roses. There was a roaring fire burning in the fireplace for extra warmth and light.

Viktor blindfolded Holly and led her up to the tower. Holly gasped when she saw all the effort that Viktor had gone through to make their first Valentine's special. She jumped into his arms and kissed him.

"This is so lovely, Viktor, thank you. But you didn't have to go through all this trouble."

"No thanks needed, moya malŭk gŭlŭb, and I vonted to do this for you."

Viktor waves his wand, and the violin started playing, he bowed to Holly and offered his hand, "May I have this dance?"

Holly giggled and took his hand; they slowly start dancing around the room, holding each other close. Viktor would peck Holly on the lips as they danced. They suddenly heard a crack, and Dobby showed up with their dinner. Snapping his fingers, Dobby made their dinner appear on the table. He served them prime rib with asparagus and potatoes, and Yorkshire pudding.

"Thank you, Dobby," Viktor said to the house-elf.

"Yous be welcome, Mr. Viktor Krum, sir."

Victor led Holly over to the table and pulled the chair out for her. She blushed and sat down. Viktor then took his seat across from her. Since Holly wasn't old enough to drink, Viktor made sure that Dobby served them both pumpkin juice for their meal. As they had their dinner, the violin continued to play in the background, and they had a lovely dinner with lively conversation.

At the end of the meal, Viktor gave Holly a red rose. She took the rose and smiled, "Thank you, Viktor."

Viktor smiled and waved his hand over the rose; it suddenly changed into a small jewelry box. Holly's eyes widened when she opened it; there was a gold necklace in it with a golden snitch pendant.

Holly gasped, "Viktor, it's beautiful, but I can't accept this. I didn't get you anything."

"It is alright, Holly, you did not have to get me anything. I vont you to have this. It is the first snitch I caught as a professional."

"Oh, then I surely can't take it. This snitch is something special to you."

Viktor reached out for Holly's hand, "So are you, Holly. I vont you to know how special you are to me. Please accept it."

Holly couldn't resist the look in his eyes; she blushed and nodded. Viktor stood up and walked over to Holly. He took the necklace out of the box and clasped it around Holly's neck. He then bent down and kissed her neck, "Thank you, Holly, you haff made me very happy."

"Oh, Viktor, no happier than you have made me," Holly said as she looked at him. Viktor captured her lips in a passionate kiss. He pulled her up from her chair, and they danced the rest of the night away.

While this was going on, Hermione was in the library trying to find a way for Harry to breathe underwater for an hour. Her nerves were already frazzled, worrying about her two best friends, and she wanted to help both of them. But Holly insisted that Hermione help Harry. Holly told Hermione that Luna and Ginny would help her.

So, that's where Aleksandur found Hermione with quills in her hair holding up Hermione's hair and her chewing on the end of a quill. He smiled at how cute she looked. Aleksandur sat down across from her and picked up a book. Hermione looked up at him with a curious look.

"Hello, Alek, what are you doing here?"

"I haff come to help you with your research for the second task. I am assuming that Harry has figured out the clue, Da?"

"Yes, he figured it out, and we know he has to breathe underwater for an hour, but why are you helping me? Shouldn't you be helping Viktor?"

"Viktor already has a plan. I vont to help you find something to help Holly's brother. And I am being a bit selfish as vell."

Hermione narrowed her eyes, "How are you selfish?"

"I vonted to spend Valentine's day vith you but could not find you today, and if this is the only vay we can be together, then so be it. Vill, you accept my help?"

Hermione beamed at Aleksandur, "I would love your help."

And so they sat there going over every book that Hermione had on her desk. They stayed there for a few hours researching until Aleksandur exclaimed, "Ah-ha, I haff found it. Harry can use gillyweed."

"What's gillyweed," Hermione asked.

"Gillyweed is a magical plant that, when eaten, allows a human to breathe underwater. It is said to resemble a bundle of slimy, grey-green rat tails. When eaten, it gives the consumer gills, allowing them to breathe underwater, and webbing between the fingers and toes, allowing them to swim underwater with ease.  
Gillyweed is native to the Mediterranean Sea," Aleksandur read from the Herbology book.

Hermione sagged, "From the Mediterranean? How are we going to get it from here?"

"Easy, I could ask my house-elf to bring it," Aleksandur said.

Hermione stiffened, "You have a house-elf?"

"Da, I know what you are thinking, Hermione, but they are not slaves. House-elves depend on Vizards and Vitches to survive. They need our magic to sustain their lives. I once thought as you. I gave clothes to a house-elf once to set him free. A few veeks later, he came back, dying and asking to come back to be vith us. He had no more magic. It takes a strong house-elf to live vithout a master. Like Holly's friend Dobby, but he still needs to be around Vizards to replenish his magic."

Hermione looked at Aleksandur, horrified, "I had no idea. I thought that Wizards were taking advantage of house-elves."

"No, they work for us out of gratitude. Some Vizards indeed mistreat them, but it should not be so. Do you understand now?"

"Yes, I do."

"May I call my house-elf?"

"Please do."

"Tabby."

There was a crack, and a little female house-elf appeared dressed in a cute little dress, Hermione smiled, "Tabby, this is Hermione Granger," Aleksandur said.

"Hello Miss Granger, it is a pleasure to meet you."

Hermione was surprised to see that the house-elf spoke so well.

"Tabby, Ve are needing gillyweed, is it possible for you to bring some?"

"Of course, Master Aleksandur, I will go get some from the market in the Mediterranean for you. Be when do you need it?"

"As soon as possible. Before the second task."

"I shall return with the gillyweed, Master."

With that, she vanished.

Hermione stared at Aleksandur, "I know she speaks better English than I do. My grandfather made sure Tabby vas vell educated."

"You can do that?"

"Of course. Now that we haff solved Harry's problem, let us get something to eat."

Hermione smiled and nodded, "Let's do to the kitchen and get something to eat."

They stood up, and Aleksandur waved his wand, and the books put themselves up in their proper place, "You need to teach me that spell."

Aleksandur chuckled, "Of course."

He offered his arm to Hermione, and the two left for the kitchen.

After Valentine's Day, Holly and Viktor saw less of each other, each preparing for the second task. With the help of Luna and Ginny, Holly had found the perfect transfiguration spell to help her move through the water, and she would use a bubblehead charm to help her breathe underwater. Using the Room of Requirement, Holly would practice the spell to make sure that she could do it correctly before the second task.

The day before the second task, several professors came and gathered students to help with individual projects. On February 24th, the day of the second task, Holly and Harry noticed that Hermione and Luna were missing. They looked at each other confused, "Do you suppose they stayed inside the castle," Harry asked.

"I wouldn't think so; I'm sure they would be here to support us."

Holly looked at Viktor, who was looking around as well; Holly went up to Viktor to ask him what the matter was, "Viktor, what's the matter?"

"I cannot find Aleksandur; he said he would be here."

"That's odd, Hermione and Luna are missing as well."

"Ve vill haff to vorry about it later. The competition is about to begin."

"You're right, Good luck, Viktor."

"Good luck to you, Holly."

"Welcome to the second task. Last night something was stolen from each of our champions, a treasure of sorts. These five treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the black lake. In order to win, each champion needs only to find their treasure and return to the surface. Simple enough. Except for this, they will have one hour to do so and one hour only. After that, they'll be on their own," Dumbledore tells everyone.

Mad-Eye had found out that Harry had gotten hold of gillyweed and told him to hurry and put it in his mouth. Then he looked at Holly, "Whatever you're going to do, Potter, you better do it fast."

Moody didn't like the fact that he had no idea what Holly's plans were, like in the first task, she was playing her cards close to the chest.

"You may begin at the start of the cannon," Dumbledore announces.

The cannon fires, and the champions enter the water; three of them dive in while Harry is pushed. Underwater the effects of gillyweed take hold,; Harry's hands and feet become webbed. While the other's dive into the water, everyone gasps that Holly hasn't jumped in yet. She sits on the edge of the platform with her feet dangling off the edge and transfigures her legs into a mermaid tail. Then Holly casts a bubblehead charm. She replaces her wand in her holster on her arm then jumps off the deck.

As soon as she hits the water, she starts pumping her tail and heading straight for the bottom. As she swims, Holly grabs her wand and holds it tightly in her hand, prepared for anything that might come at her. Holly sees the Giant Squid swim by and wave at her, she smiles and waves back. As Holly enters a patch of grass, a Grindylow shoots out, trying to grab her.

"Stupify!" Holly said, hitting the Grindylow right in the chest, knocking it out.

At the surface, Dumbledore announces that The Beauxbatons champion Miss Delacour has unfortunately been forced to retire. She will take no further part in this task.

Holly continues to swim towards the bottom, increasing her speed. When she reaches the village of the mermaids, Holly sees in their square several people tied and floating in the water. Luna, Hermione, Aleksandur, Cho, and Fleur's little sister, Gabrielle. Holly looks between Luna and Hermione, Holly decides to free both girls, but the mermaids stop her.

"Only one."

Holly frees Luna and swims for the surface. She is the first to surface. The crowd cheers when they see Holly and Luna. The minute they surface, Luna wakes up; Holly helps her swim to the deck, and the others help the girls out of the water. Fred and George hand Holly and Luna towels, "Nice going, Holly," Fred says.

"You look good as a fish," George comments.

Holly elbows him in the stomach. Holly hugs Luna and asks her if she was okay, Luna tells her that she's okay. Holly uses a drying spell on Luna and herself. A few moments later, Viktor and Aleksandur surface. They swim towards the platform, and Demitri helps them out of the water. Karkaroff hands both boys towels to dry off. When they've dried off a bit, Viktor cast a drying spell on him and Alek.

The third to surface is Cedric with Cho. There's a long wait until Hermione and Gabrielle; they swim to the platform and wait for Harry. A few seconds later, Harry comes shooting out of the water and lands on the deck. Holly rushes to her brother, "Harry! Are you alright, what happened?" She asks as she crushes her brother in a hug.

"Hol, can't breathe." Harry gasps.

"Sorry."

"Had a run-in with a Grindylow," Harry explains.

"Merlin, Harry, you scared me half to death," Holly said then hits her brother, who winces from the scratch he has, "Oh sorry, Har bear."

The twins snigger behind them, until, Holly gives them a death glare.

Fleur comes over to Harry, "You saved her, even though she wasn't yours to save. My little sister!" Then she kisses Harry.

Dumbledore calls the judges over to talk to them. They come back, and Dumbledore makes the announcement, "Attention! Attention! The winner is... Miss. Potter. For showing unique command of Transfiguration, and the bubblehead charm."

The crowd cheers, and Luna, Harry, and Hermione hug Holly, when they let go of her, Viktor comes over and wraps his arms around her. He kisses the top of her head and holds her tightly.

"Attention, seeing as Mr. Potter would have finished second had it not been for his determination to rescue not only Miss Granger but the others as well. We've agreed to award him second place! For outstanding moral fiber."

The crowd cheers again, and Holly breaks away from Viktor to congratulate her brother. They hug, and Holly kisses his cheek, "I'm so proud of you, Harry."

"Thank you, Holly."

"Mr. Krum has come in third, with Mr. Diggory in fourth," Dumbledore announces.

Holly walks over to Viktor, "Are you okay, coming in third?"

"Da, you're brother deserves to come in second."

"I'm glad you're not upset. Um I'm going to ride with my brother back to shore, do you mind?"

"No, that is fine. I will see you later?"

"Of course."

Holly and Viktor hug and kiss, then Holly gets in the boat with Harry, Hermione, and Luna.


	12. Murder and Love

After reaching shore, Holly and Harry walked with there arms around each other back towards the castle. As they walked, Fred and George made fun of Harry and is moral fiber, Holly laughing along with the twins. They were suddenly stopped by Bartimus Crouch Sr.

"Congratulations, Miss. Potter, an exceptional achievement. Well done, boy. I'm sorry we haven't spoken, after all, your story is one I've heard many times. Quite remarkable. Tragic, of course, to lose one's family. Never whole again, are we? Still, life goes on. And here we stand. I'm sure your parents would be very proud today, Potter."

Barty said as he looked between the twins, "If you say so, Mr. Crouch," Holly said.

Moody approaches them, "Bartimus! Not trying to lure the Potters into one of the ministry's summer internships, are we? The last boy who went into the department of ministries never came out!"

Barty doesn't answer; he only walks away.

"And they say I'm mad."

Holly looks at Moody suspiciously. The feeling in her gut about not trusting Moody is even stronger. She only wished that Harry would listen to her.

Later that day, Holly, Harry, and Hermione are walking through the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid, "So I remember, I remember when I first met you all. Biggest bunch of misfits I've ever set eyes on, you lot always reminded me of myself a little. And here we all are, four years later."

"We're still misfits," Holly says.

"Maybe. But we've all got each other, and Holly and Harry of course. And one of you is soon to be the youngest Tri-Wizard champion there's ever been! Hooray!" Hagrid cheers, "By the way, where's Ron?"

"Holly and Ron had a row, and they're staying away from each other for now," Harry answered.

"About what?"

Holly explained what Ron has been doing lately and that he's been acting like an insensitive git. Hagrid listened and nodded his head, "You're right, Holly, Ron should never have said those things about you and Viktor, he had no right. But are you going to throw away four years of friendship over it?"

Holly paused.

"Just think about it, Holly."

Holly nods, maybe they could still be friends, but she would never trust him like she once did. Ron was slowly starting to show his true colors. He was jealous and petty, and the boy honestly thought that she and Harry were attention seekers, and they enjoyed their unwarranted fame.

Holly and Harry walked through the forest, singing the Hogwarts song. Holly and Harry suddenly got a shooting pain through their scars. On the ground, they see Barty Crouch laying lifeless. Holly gasps and calls for Hagrid, who rushes over to the twins.

"Oh, Merlin, Mr. Crouch."

Holly and Harry stare at the body, while Hermione sends up red sparks with her wand to get the attention of the Professors at the castle. Eventually, Dumbledore, Snape, Moody, and McGonagall show up, they demand to know what happened from everyone.

"We don't know what happened, Holly and Harry found Mr. Crouch already dead."

"And what were you all doing so far from the castle, may I ask," Snape asked, "That's fifty points each from Gryffindor."

"Severus, not now. We need to get Barty back to the castle," Dumbledore said.

Snape scowls at the twins, but he transfigures a stretcher and a sheet to cover Barty's body. As they take the body back to the castle, Holly could swear she saw a smirk on Moody's face.

Later that day, Viktor finds Holly. He had heard about what happened to Crouch, and Viktor wanted to check on Holly to make sure she was okay. He found her sitting in an alcove staring out the window watching the rainfall.

"Gŭlŭbcheto mi (My dove.) Are you alright? Aleksandur and I heard you, and your brother found Mr. Crouch's body."

Holly looked at Viktor and frowned, "I'm alright, Viktor, I'm only trying to figure out who would have wanted Mr. Crouch dead. There were no marks on him; it looked like he just dropped dead."

Viktor gasped, "Someone used the killing curse on him."

Holly's eyes widen, "I'm so stupid, I should have known that."

"No, you are not, little one. You've only seen it once. And I am glad you do not know vhot it looks like."

"And you do?"

Viktor sigh, "At Durmstrang ve are showed many times how the Unforgivable curses vork so that ve know vhot to expect. I haff even felt the Cruciatus Curse before."

Holly gasped, "That's awful."

"Da, but it is required at Durmstrang."

Holly felt so terrible that she got off her seat and hugged Viktor, forgetting all about Mr. Crouch. They stood there for a while, holding each other until the couple was interrupted by Harry, who was looking for his sister.

"Oh, uh, I didn't mean to interrupt. I only wanted to see how you were doing, Hol."

"I'm fine, Har-Bear. Just a little shaken," Holly said as she pulled away from Viktor.

"Good, then I guess I'll leave you two alone."

Holly smiled at her brother, "Thanks for checking up on me, Harry."

"Yeah, no problem," And with that, Harry left.

After Mr. Crouch's murder, the Aurors had been called to investigate, but they found nothing so slowly the matter was forgotten by the Hogwarts students and the visiting delegations, except by Holly. She still couldn't get the look on Moody's face out of her head, why did he look so satisfied? After a while, she decided to put it out of her head, or it would drive her mad.

The months passed, and things got back to normal. Holly helped Hermione, Luna and Ginny study for their end of term exams. Just she was exempt didn't mean that Holly didn't want to study with them anyway. Ron and Holly's relationship slowly got better, but there was a strain there that everyone noticed except for Ron.

Of course, most of her free time she spent it with Viktor. Usually, one could not be found without the other. They were either holding hands or giving each other innocent kisses. Of course, it wasn't always so innocent. They would sometimes end up under the Quidditch bleachers making out, though Viktor tried not to push Holly into something she was uncomfortable with, she was usually very receptive to their makeout sessions.

Holly and Viktor weren't the only ones getting close. Hermione and Aleksandur were also getting close. They would take long walks together, talking about everything. Aleksandur told Hermione that he wanted to work for the Bulgarian Ministry of Magic after he graduated. He wanted to fight for equality for werewolves and other creatures. Though things weren't nearly as bad in Bulgaria as they were in England for werewolves, Aleksandur still thought it was unfair.

"I haff an uncle that vos bitten by Greyback. And though he is not treated as badly as he would be here, there are some things he is not allowed to do. Luckily for my uncle ve haff many houses throughout Bulgaria and Russia, so he can live vherever he vonts. My father gives him a monthly allowance, and I stay vith him during his transformation."

"You're an animagus," Hermione asked, as they walked around holding hands.

"Da, I am a brown bear. Large enough for my uncle to play vith and not get hurt. Sometimes Viktor joins us; he is a snow leopard."

"It must be fascinating being an animagus."

"It is a lot of fun. Would you like to see?"

Hermione's eyes lit up, "Yes, please."

Aleksandur stood back, giving himself enough room, and transformed. Hermione gasped at seeing the giant grizzly bear standing in front of her with blue eyes. The bear came over to Hermione and growled playfully at her. He carefully reached out with his paw and knocked Hermione off her feet. Hermione started laughing as the bear began sniffing her. She squealed when she felt a long wet tongue lick her face.

"Ew, Alek! That's gross."

The bear sat down on his haunches and started huffing; it sounded like he was laughing. Hermione sat up and cast a cleaning charm to get the slobber off of her, "Alright, Mr. Ivanov, change back."

Aleksandur got back up and turned back. He laughed when Hermione hit him, "I am sorry, Malka Zvezda (Little Star.) I could not resist."

Hermione huffed, "You're forgiven."

Aleksandur wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulder, and she wrapped hers around his waist. They stopped and sat under a tree by the lake. They sat there in comfortable silence until Aleksandur turned to Hermione. He took her hand in his and kissed it.

"The reason I asked you to come to walk with me is that I vonted to ask you something."

Hermione's heart was racing, "What did you want to ask me?"

Aleksandur looked deeply into Hermione's brown eyes, "Vould you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?"

Hermione gasped, "I would love to be your girlfriend."

Aleksandur smiled, he leaned in and kissed Hermione on the lips. Hermione wrapped her arms around Aleksandur's neck, and he lifted her and placed her in his lap. They kissed for a while then separated for air. Aleksandur placed his forehead against Hermione's, "That was a lovely first kiss," Hermione said.

"Da, I could not agree more," He said then pecked Hermione on the lips.

"You must come to visit me in Bulgaria this summer, vith Holly," Aleksandur said.

"Holly's going to Bulgaria? She didn't tell me."

"Viktor is going to ask her today. I am sure she vill say yes. If you vont, I vill even meet your parents."

"I think that would be for the best. I want my parents to know my boyfriend."

"Hmm, I like the sound of that," Aleksandur said, then kissed Hermione again.

They sat there on a beautiful spring day enjoying each other's company for the rest of the afternoon, talking and kissing.

Meanwhile, Holly and Viktor were chasing each other, laughing and teasing each other on the Quidditch Pitch, "Come on, Viktor, you said you would help me practice with the Quaffle so I can try out for next year's team."

"I am helping you. Vhy do you think I am chasing you?"

"Don't be silly, go guard the goal, and I'll see if I can throw it pass you."

Viktor moaned, "Fine."

Viktor flew over to the goal and put himself in front of the goal. Holly started at the opposite of the pitch. She pretended that she was being chased and did evasive maneuvers. When Holly got to the goal, she threw the Quaffle as hard as she could to get it to pass Viktor, but he blocked. She caught it and started again. The more they practiced, the better Holly got. Eventually, she was able to get the Quaffle past Viktor more often than not.

When they landed, Viktor hugs Holly, "You did very well, Holly. If you do not make the team, I vill be very surprised."

Viktor spins Holly around in his arms, then kisses her, "Vill you come to visit me in Bulgaria?"

Holly looked at Viktor, surprised, "Really?"

"Yes, I vould luff to show you my home."

"Yes. Well, that is if Remus and Sirius let me."

"I vill ask them for permission."

"No, I'll ask them."

"Holly, I need to ask them. It is the proper thing to do."

"Okay."

"Good, I am glad that is settled," Viktor said then kissed Holly again. They picked up their brooms and headed back to the castle.


	13. Chapter 13 The Third Task

Holly and Viktor were walking towards the castle when they saw Hermione and Aleksandur coming from the lake; they had their arms wrapped around each other as they walked. Holly looked at them curiously.

"I wonder what's that about?"

"Ah, Herm-own-ninny must haff accepted."

"Accepted what?"

"Aleksandur was going to ask Herm-own-ninny to be his girlfriend."

"What?! And you're barely telling me this now?" Holly exclaimed.

"It vos not my place to tell, you, Gŭlŭbcheto Mi (My Dove.)"

Holly huffed, "Fine."

Viktor pouted, "Do you forgiff me for not telling you?"

"I suppose."

"Vhot, can I do to earn your forgiffness?"

Holly smiled, "A kiss would be nice."

"Anything for you, Holly."

Viktor grabbed Holly by the waist and started peppering her face with kisses. Holly began to giggling and tried to push him away, but Viktor tightened his grip then he kissed her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. The couple stayed like that for a few moments until they heard someone clear their throat. Holly and Viktor turn their heads to see a smirking Aleksandur and a blushing Hermione.

"Molya vi, Viktor, ima detsa. (Please, Viktor, there are children present.)"

Viktor turned his head, and there was a group of first years staring at them. Holly follows Viktor's eyes and turns bright red when she sees the firsties staring at them; Aleksandur started laughing.

"Mlŭkni (Shut up.)," Viktor tells his best friend.

Holly and Hermione only stare at the boys, confused. Viktor shakes his head and takes Holly by the hand and leads her toward his ship so he can put up his broom.

"We'll save you a spot at the table, Holly," Hermione calls out.

"Thanks, Mione; we'll be along in a little bit."

After the couple put up their brooms, they go to the Great Hall to have lunch with Hermione and Aleksandur. Holly and Viktor sit down opposite of the new couple. Viktor and Aleksandur begin talking in Bulgarian while Holly smiles at Hermione.

"So, Viktor told me what Aleksandur was going to do today, and by the way, you guys looked coming back from the lake you said yes, right?"

Hermione blushed, "Yes, I said yes."

Ginny looked at Hermione, "Said yes to what," Then she noticed that Aleksandur was sitting as close to Hermione as possible. Her eyes widen.

"Oh, my Merlin! You're going out with him?"

Hermione flushed even more but grinned and nodded. Ginny squealed and hugged Hermione, Aleksandur looked at his girlfriend and smiled. Ron was so absorbed in eating that he didn't hear a thing, then he listened to his sister squeal. "What's wrong with you?"

"Hermione and Aleksandur are going out!"

Ron's face started turning red, starting from his neck, going up to the tips of his ears. He slammed his fork down, got up, and left in a huff. Harry looked watched Ron as he left the Great hall, "What's wrong with him?"

"He's jealous that Hermione is going out with Aleksandur," Holly tells her brother.

"Since when?"

"I asked her to be my girlfriend a little vhile ago, Harry," Aleksandur said.

Harry looks between his best friend and the Durmstrang boy. He can see how happy Hermione is, and Harry's happy for her. He smiles at the new couple, "Congratulations, you two."

"Thank you, Harry. That means so much to me."

"Da, thank you."

"Now all we need to do is find you a girlfriend, Har-Bear," Holly tells him.

Harry's eyes drift to the Ravenclaw table, and he looks at Cho, "Yeah, that's all we need."

The months pass by, and the third task is scheduled for June 24th. Since they weren't told what to expect, the champions train for whatever might have to face. Viktor and Aleksandur go through all the spells that Viktor knows, and they do some physical training as well, while Holly and Harry tried to learn as many new spells as possible. But Holly worked on her agility as well.

The day before the third task, the five champions were shown into a room. They all gasped when they found their families waiting for them.

"Maman, Papa!" Fleur cried when she sees her parents and rushes over into their awaiting arms.

That set everyone else off to go to their families. Viktor goes to his parents and hugs his mother and father while Holly and Harry hug Remus and Sirius. Sirius Harry while Remus hugs Holly, then they switch. Sirius squeezes the life out of Holly, "Oh, Bambi, it's so good to see you and Prongslet."

"It's good to see you too, Siri. What are you all doing here?"

"All the parents are allowed to be here for the last task. We came to support our kids," Sirius tells Holly.

"How are you, Siri?"

"Oh, you know me, worried out of my mind about you and Harry."

"We're alright, Siri, you don't have to worry about us. We're doing fine."

Sirius glances over at Viktor who's mother has yet to let him go, "I heard that you're doing more than fine, Bambi."

"Siri, be nice. Viktor means a lot to me, and I want you and him to get along."

"I don't, if I can, Holly, you're my baby, and I want to protect you."

"Please, Siri, for me? I need you to try to get along with him. I know you want to protect me, but Viktor would never hurt me."

Sirius sighs, "Okay, Bambi, I'll try, for you."

"Thank you."

At that moment, Viktor walks over with his parents; He smiles at Holly and takes her hand, "Holly, I vould like to introduce you to my parents. Marko and Anna."

Anna smiles brightly at Holly, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Holly. Ve haff her a lot about you from Viktor's letters. He cannot stop talking about you."

"Mamo," Viktor whines.

Marko chuckles and pats Viktor on the back, "Vhot, Viktor, it is true. you go on and on about Holly."

Viktor turns bright red.

Marko shakes Holly's hand, "It is good to meet you, Holly. Now I can see why Viktor is so taken with you."

Holly blushes, "Thank you, sir." Holly noticed that Viktor looked exactly liked his father.

"Please call me Marko."

"Alright, Marko. I'd like you all to meet my adoptive parents, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black."

Viktor turned to Sirius and Remus, "It is nice to see you again; I am glad to meet the both of you formally."

"So are we, Viktor, I'm Remus, and this is Sirius, Holly too has told us a lot about you."

"All of it good, I hope."

"Very good, she raves about you in every letter she sends," Sirius says.

"Siri," Remus warns, "No, but she does tell us great things about you all the time. Holly said you're helping her train to get on the Quidditch team next year."

"I vont to make sure that Holly is as prepare as she possibly can."

Viktor then introduces his parents to Remus, Sirius, and Harry. They talk for a while then decide to head to the Three Broomsticks for lunch. As they walk to Hogsmeade, Viktor decides that today he was going to ask Holly's parents if she can come to visit him in the summer. He had already talked to his parents, and they were okay with it.

The group arrives at the Three Broomsticks, and Sirius asked for a private room in the back; Madam Rosmerta obliged him. They all sat down and started looking at the menu; Holly and Viktor sat together between the two groups. After their orders were taken, the group started having polite conversation getting to know each other.

It turned out that Marko was the undersecretary to the Bulgarian Minister of Magic, and Anna was an ex-Auror but was now a stay at home mom.

Remus told them that he used to be the Defense Against of Dark Arts Professor the year before, but since Sirius was proven innocent, he decided to resign to spend time with his husband. Holly and Harry started raving about what a great teacher Remus was and how he taught them to perform the Patronus Charm. They could both produce corporeal Patronus.

"That is very impressive. What are they," Marko asked?

"Mine is a stag, and Holly's is a wild cat."

Marko chuckled, "How interesting, Viktor's animagus is a snow leopard."

Holly turned to Viktor, "You didn't tell me you were an animagus."

Viktor flushed, "I forgot."

Holly playfully slapped his arm. Viktor's parents chuckled. As they were having lunch, Marko looked at Viktor and motioned with his head towards Remus and Sirius. Getting the hint, Viktor cleared his throat and looked at Remus and Sirius. "Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black, I vould like to speak vith you about Holly and this summer."

Sirius looked at Viktor, well, seriously, "What about this summer?"

"I vould like your permission to have Holly come to visit me in Bulgaria this summer."

Sirius' eyes widen, "Hell-Ow!"

He looked at Remus, who had just pinched his leg. Remus looks between Holly and Viktor, "And where will Holly be staying," Remus asked.

"She vill be staying in our home, Mr. Lupin," Anna said.

"Please, call me Remus," Remus said with a smile.

"Alright, Remus, ve vill be chaperoning them at all times. You do not haff to vorry about that," Marko assures.

Remus looked at Sirius who was discreetly shaking his head; then he looked at Holly who gave him a hopeful look, "Would you mind if Sirius and I discuss it and let you know later," Remus asked.

"Of course not, take as much time as you need," Marko says.

After having dessert, they head back to Hogwarts. Holly and Viktor lag behind the others a bit so that they can talk, "Do you think your parents vill give you permission?" Viktor asks.

"I don't know, but I have faith that Remus will at least try to be objective."

"And Sirius?"

"It's harder on him. He still sees me as a little girl, but Moony will make him see reason."

Viktor nods.

When they get back to the castle, Holly and Viktor go their seperate ways so that they can each spend time with their families. They all met up in the Great Hall later for dinner. All the parents sat at the head table with the Dumbledor and the other professors. Viktor and Aleksandur once again sat with their girlfriends at the Gryffindor table; they were talking and laughing.

Sirius sat at the head table, only half-listening to the conversations that were going on around him. He was watching how Holly and Viktor were acting; Holly was leaning against Viktor as he had his arms wrapped around her; they looked so happy together. The couple reminded him more and more about Lily and James during their seventh year. He gets this resigned look on his face, "They're in love," He mumbles.

"Yes, they are," Moony tells him, "Though, I don't think they've realized it yet."

"Oh, Moony, this is awful."

"Is it?"

Sirius thinks for a moment, "No, I suppose it isn't, but Holly's so young."

"Yes, but like father like daughter," Remus points out.

"I suppose so."

"Did you know Viktor gave her the first snitch he caught as a professional as a gift?" Remus asks.

"No, when did he do that?"

"Valentine's Day. He turned it into a necklace for her. It's the one she's wearing. Holly told me she never takes it off."

"I'm not surprised she told you. I guess I haven't been the easiest person to talk to. Besides, she's always told you everything. Remember when they were little. She was always babbling to you about who knows what. You two have always been closer."

"Well, I am her godfather."

"And the more responsible parent," Sirius says.

"Yes, I am. So now that you've had your epiphany, what do you think about letting her to Bulgaria for the summer?"

"I think that if we don't let Holly go, she'll be miserable all summer. But I think you should go with them."

"Sirius."

"No, only to see where Holly will be staying. That's it."

Remus thinks for a moment, "I think that's fair. We'll tell them after the third task."

"Agreed."

The next day, Remus and Sirius spent a few hours talking with Marko and Anna giving Harry a chance to be with his friends and Holly and Viktor time to themselves.

The couple was by the lake sitting under a tree. Holly was sitting in Viktor's lap; he had his arms wrapped around her waist. He would occasionally kiss her neck, "Are you nervous about tonight?" Holly asked.

"A little, more for you than for me," Viktor says.

Holly looked up at him, "Why?"

"Because you know so little spell and ve don't know vhat ve are going to face this time."

"You don't have to be worried, Viktor, Luna, and Ginny helped me learn a lot of spells, and I've been working on my gymnastics. So, my agility has increased. Whatever we face, I feel fairly prepared."

"I still vorry."

"I know, but try not to. I don't want you to get hurt," Holly tells him.

Viktor strokes Holly's cheek then leans down and kisses her. At that moment, Hermione and Aleksandur come down the hill towards the couple, "Hello, you two. Remus sent us down to collect you. He and Sirius would like to spend some time with you and Harry, and your parents want the same, Viktor." Hermione informs them.

Holly gets off Viktor's lap then he stands up. They walk back towards the castle hand in hand with Hermione and Aleksandur. Viktor goes to his ship, where his parents are waiting for him, and Holly meets up with Harry, and they go to the Gryffindor Common Room to spend time with Remus and Sirius. They talk and laugh with their parents and have dinner in the kitchen away from everyone else. Later that evening, Remus and Sirius escort their children to the Quidditch Pitch. Holly and Harry meet up with the other Champions. Music is playing, and a large crowd is gathered. The champions emerge onto the pitch.

"Earlier today, Professor Moody placed the Tri-Wizards Cup deep within the maze. Only he knows its exact position. Now, as Mr. and Miss Potter are tied for the first position, they will enter first. Followed by Mr. Krum."

"The first person to touch the cup will be the winner. I've instructed the staff to patrol the perimeter if, at any point, should a contestant wish to withdraw from the task, he or she need only send up red sparks with their wands. Contestants, gather round."

The contestants gather around Dumbledore. Dumbledore lowers his voice, "In the maze, you'll find not dragons or creatures of the deep. Instead, you'll face something more challenging. You see, people change in the maze. Oh, find the cup if you can, but be very wary; you could lose yourselves along the way."

"Champions! Prepare yourselves." Moody bellows.

Cedric hugs his father, while the others do the same with their families. The cannon goes off. Holly and Harry enter the maze through the same entrance. They both turn around, and Moody discreetly points in one direction. Harry turns in that direction, and Holly goes the exact opposite. The entrance closes up behind them. Heavy mist sets in, Holly starts traversing the maze, creature noises are all around.

Holly mutters Lumnos, and the tip of her want lit up. The path ahead was empty too, and when Holly reached a right turn and took it, she again found her way unblocked. Holly didn't know why, but the lack of obstacles was unnerving her. Surely she should have met something by now? It felt as though the maze were luring her into a false sense of security. Then she heard movement right behind her. She held out her wand, ready to attack, but its beam fell only upon Cedric, who had just hurried out of a path on the right-hand side. Cedric looked severely shaken. The sleeve of his robe was smoking.

"Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts!" he hissed. "They're enormous — I only just got away!" He shook his head and dived out of sight, along another path. Keen to put plenty of distance between himself and the skrewts.

Holly continues cautiously. Her mind wanders to Harry and Viktor, wondering if they were faring as bad as Cedric. She continues to walk until she comes across a Dementor gliding toward her. Twelve feet tall, its face was hidden by its hood, its rotting, scabbed hands outstretched, it advanced, sensing its way blindly toward her. Holly instantly thinks of her happiest memory; it was when Viktor asked her to be his girlfriend. She focused on that memory the cried, "Expecto Patronum!"

Instantly her wild cat leaps from her wand and rushes the dementor with a growl. The dementor stumbles back; Holly had never seen a dementor do that before. She suddenly realizes that it's not a Dementor but a Boggart.

"Riddikulus!"

And the Boggart changes into smoke fades away. Holly's wild cat disappears, and Holly is left alone again. After several twists and turns and coming across several dead ends, Holly finds herself in front of some mist. From the other side of the mist, she sees red sparks go up. Calling up her Gryffindor bravery, Holly plunges through the fog. On the other side. Holly finds Fleur unconscious, and further up, she spots Harry standing over a prone body.

"Harry?"

Harry turns around and gasps at seeing his twin, "Holly, I had to, he attacked Fleur."

"What are you talking about?"

Then Holly noticed that it was Viktor lying on the ground, unconscious, "Viktor!"

She runs past Harry and kneels next to Viktor, "What did you do?" Holly asked.

"I had to stun him, Holly, he was using the Cruciatus Curse on Fleur."

"Viktor would never do that," Holly said as tears ran down her face.

Harry grabs her arms, "Holly! He was under the Imperius Curse. I know Viktor would never do that of his own free will. We need to leave them; I already sent up red sparks, the professors will be along shortly to help them."

"No! I won't leave him!"

"Holly, we have to go. We need to finish this."

Holly sniffled and kissed Viktor's cheek. She knew that Harry was right. Harry stood up and helped his sister up. They make their way through the maze, holding hands, so they don't lose each other. They continue to make their way through the maze, and as they go, the hedges start closing in around Holly and Harry. The twins start running before it collapses on them.

When they burst out, Harry runs right into Cedric, but Holly sees the Cup in the distance. Harry and Cedric start pushing each other, trying to get ahead. Holly turns and punches Cedric in the face causing him to stumble back. She grabs Harry's hand and takes off running towards the Cup. But they suddenly hear Cedric's screams. Turning around, Holly and Harry see that the vines from the Devil's Snare has grabbed Cedric and is pulling him back into the maze.

"Holly, Harry!"

The twins look at each other and simultaneously fire at the Devil's Snare, freeing Cedric. He wiggles free and stands up, "For a moment there, I thought you were going to leave me,"

"For a moment, there we were," Harry tells him.

"Nice punch, Holly."

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"Some game, Huh?"

"Yeah, some game," Harry says.

The wind blows so hard that the trio has to cover their eyes from the blowing dust. Cedric looks at the twins, "Go ahead, take it, you two saved my life."

"We'll take it together," Harry says, and Holly nods.

"One the count of three, 1, 2, 3."

They all grab hold of the Cup and suddenly disappear.

Back at the opening of the maze, Viktor is inconsolable. He's holding his head in his hands, looking at the ground. How could he have used the Cruciatus Curse on Fleur? Viktor knew he was under the Imperius Curse, but he was still conscious enough to realize he was torturing that poor girl. But Viktor was helpless to stop himself. What made him feel worse was that it could have been Holly. And if he had hurt Holly like, Viktor knew he would never be able to live with himself. It was at that moment that Viktor realized how much he loved Holly.

Hours passed and still the Potter twins, and Cedric Diggory had yet to appear. The more time that passed, the more nervous, Remus, and Sirius got. This wasn't normal; they shouldn't be taking this long. Remus and Sirius decided that they needed to talk to Dumbledore and find out what was going on. They make their way down to where Dumbledore is standing.

"This is taking too long, Albus, we need to go in there and search for them," Sirius whispers.

"I'm inclined to agree with you, Sirius, but we cannot interfere with the task, or else they will all be disqualified."

"To hell with that! My kids are in danger," Sirius says.

It was at that moment that, Holly, Harry, with Cedric's body hit the ground outside the maze. The crowd doesn't understand what has taken place, and they all cheer, triumphant music starts to play. Holly and Harry are weeping over Cedric's body.

"Holly, Harry, what happened," Dumbledore asks as he and Remus try to pry Harry and Holly away from Cedric's body.

"He's back; he's back! Voldemort's back. Cedric, he asked me to bring his body back. We couldn't leave him, not there." Holly said as she sags into Remus.

"It's alright, Holly, Harry. You're home, you both are."

At that moment everything erupts in chaos, Fudge begins screaming that a boy has been killed and that everyone should remain in their seats. Amos Diggory, realizing that it's Cedric's body comes stumbling into the arena, "Let me through! That's my son! My boy!"

Amos breaks down wailing. The crowd looks on at the distraught father. Fudge, Dumbledore, Remus, Sirius, and the Aurors surround Amos trying to console him and find out what happened. At that moment, Holly and Harry are being led away by Moody. Holly starts protesting, but Moody tells her they need to get away from the crowd.

As the twins are being taken back into the castle, Dumbledore concludes that Moody must have turned the Cup into a portkey since he was the last one to have contact with it. Viktor, who was standing with his parents, looks around for Holly and Harry. Noticing that Moody is gone as well, Viktor realizes that Moody has kidnaped the twins. Dread enters Viktor's heart, he rushes forward and grabs Sirius by the arm, "Sirius, Holly, and Harry are missing, and so is Moody!"

Sirius' eyes widen. He yells for Remus, "Moony, the twins!"

Dumbledore and Remus look around and see that they're gone. "Alastor must have them, Everyone, follow me," Dumbledore commands.

Dumbledore and the others rush towards the castle, but Viktor, Sirius, and Remus have a head start. Remus leads them to the DADA classroom. As they get closer, they can hear voices coming from the room. The men burst through the door, and Viktor immediately sends a stunner towards Moody, he crumbles to the floor. Viktor looks around widely for Holly and rushes toward her and hugs her to his chest

"My Holly," Viktor mumbles into her hair, "I luff you so much."

Holly hugs Viktor tighter, "I love you too."

By this time, Dumbledore and the others have arrived and captured Moody. They question him under Veritaserum and find out that Moody is, in fact, Barty Crouch Junior under Polyjuice potion. The crazed man informs them where Moody is, and Dumbledore rescues Moody from his prison. Afterward, Holly, Harry, and Moody are taken to the Medical Wing so that they may be treated for their injuries. Viktor never leaves Holly's side.


	14. Chapter 14 Recovery and Farewell

Holly wakes up with terrible pain on her left arm, where Wormtail cut her. She looked around a little disoriented, trying to remember what happened the day before. It suddenly all came back to her, and she let out a sob. Instantly Viktor was at her side. He sat down next to her and took Holly into his arms. Holly buried her face in his chest and started crying.

Viktor kissed her head, "Shh, luff, it will be alright."

Holly shook her head, "No, it won't, Viktor, Cedric is dead, and it's our fault."

"No, it isn't, Bambi. It's Wormtail's fault that Cedric is dead," Sirius said as he came towards the bed, "You and Harry can't blame yourselves for what others did."

Holly looked up at Sirius as he sat down on the other side of her. She let go of Viktor and hugged Sirius. Viktor was going to leave, but Holly's hand shot out and grabbed him, "Don't go," Holly says and pulls Viktor more onto the bed with her.

Holly sat between Viktor and Sirius and sniffled, "Where's Harry? How is he?"

"Harry was sent back to Gryffindor Tower yesterday. Madam Pomfrey said that you lost more blood than he did, and you were under the Cruciatus Curse longer." Sirius informs her.

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"Two days, Luff. I vos so vorried about you."

"We all were, but Viktor refused to leave your side," Sirius explains.

Holly looked at Viktor and cupped his face, "I'm sorry I worried you."

"Do not apologize, Moya Lyubov, (My Love.) you have nothing to be sorry for," Viktor said and wrapped his arm around Holly. She snuggled more into Viktor while Sirius ran his hand down her hair in a soothing manner.

After a while, Viktor noticed that Holly's breathing had evened out, and she had fallen asleep on him. Viktor was going to lay her down when Sirius stopped him, "Stay with her. I'm afraid she's going to wake up upset again, and you being here will help."

Viktor nods

"I'm going to bring you two something to eat," Sirius said and started walking away, but then he paused, "Oh, and Remus and I decided that Holly can go visit you this summer. After everything that's happened, it might be good for her to get away."

"Thank you, Mr. Black. And if you vont, Harry can come as vell."

Sirius smiled, "Thank you Viktor, I'll let him know. And call me Sirius." With that, Sirius walked out of the Hospital Wing and went to the kitchen to get them something to eat.

Eventually, Viktor fell asleep with Holly, and they woke up a few hours later. There was a tray of sandwiches and soup sitting on the table next to them. Viktor reached for the tray and put it on Holly's lap, "Come now, Luff, you must eat."

"I'm not hungry," Holly said.

"Please, Holly, you need to eat."

Holly looked up into Viktor's concerned eyes, she sighed and took a sandwich off the plate and began eating. Holly hadn't realized how hungry she was until she finished three sandwiches and a bowl of soup. Holly made sure that Viktor ate his share of the food.

When they finished eating, Viktor vanished the tray and kissed Holly's head. Holly sighed and snuggled into Viktor, "I love you, Viktor."

"I luff you too, My Holly."

Madam Pomfrey came in later with Remus to check on Holly. She ran a diagnostic and checked Holly's wound. The Pomfrey gave her one last blood replenishing potion and said that she could return to sleep in Gryffindor Tower, considering that they would be leaving Hogwarts in the morning. Remus brought Holly a change of clothes, and she went to the bathroom to shower and change. After that, Viktor and Remus walked her back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Alright, but I vill see you in the Great Hall in the morning," Viktor tells her. He gave Holly a quick kiss then headed back to his ship for some much-needed sleep.

Once Viktor was out of sight, Remus put his arm around Holly. She looked up at her godfather and smiled. Holly turned to the fat lady and gave the password. Holly and Remus went through the portrait hole and into the Common Room. The minute Harry saw his twin, he rushed to her and hugged Holly tightly.

"Holly, don't ever do that again," Harry said as he clung to his younger sister.

It turned out that at the graveyard, Voldemort was going to use the Cruciatus Curse on Harry, but Holly threw herself in front of him and to the brunt of the curse. Voldemort thought it was funny that Holly would do something so stupid, so he tortured her longer and made Harry watch, then he switched between the twins.

"You would have done the same thing for me as you've been doing since we were little."

Harry held his twin closer as tears leaked out of his eyes. He pulled away, and Holly wiped away his tears, "How are you feeling, Har-Bear?"

"Me? How are you feeling?"

"I feel better physically, but…"

"Yeah I know what you mean, Remus keeps telling me it's not our fault but-"

"I know I feel the same way."

Hermione and the others were standing nearby, waiting for their turn to hug Holly, but they weren't going to interrupt the twins. When the twins let go of each other, Hermione rushed over to her best friend and hugged her tightly. She asked Holly if she was alright and if she needed anything.

Holly hugged her back and told Hermione that she was as well as could be expected. They held onto each other for a while then; Holly was passed to the rest of her friends, even Ron. By the time Holly talked to all her friends, she was feeling a little drained and decided to go to bed early. She went up to her dorm, when she sat on her bed, Archimedes nearly tackled Holly. The Arctic fox was so happy to see his mistress that he stood on her chest and licked her face until Holly was giggling.

Hermione walked in and smiled at the scene, "He's been anxious about you. Archimedes slept with Crookshanks and me."

"I'm sorry, Hermione."

"No need to apologize, Hol, I'm happy to help in some way. Are you sure you're okay, you can always talk to me, you know?"

"No, I'm not, but I don't want to talk about it right now. I appreciate your offer, but maybe later, Mione."

Hermione nodded and let Holly get some sleep. The redhead cuddled up with Archimedes and closed her eyes. With Archimedes' warm body, she felt safe enough to sleep peacefully. Holly wished it was Viktor, though. Holly felt safer in Viktor's arms, and he chases the nightmares away.

The next morning, Holly got up early so that she could start packing everything up. With a wave of her wand, all of her stuff zoomed into her trunk. She shrunk her firebolt and put it in her trunk as well; Holly made sure that her family grimoire was packed safely packed away. The Potter grimoire had been invaluable this year in helping her with rare spells that helped her with the Tri-Wizard Tournament along with Luna and Ginny's assistance. The Potter grimoire was passed down from the female down the Potter line. It was required that eventually, each woman would add to the grimoire, before passing it along to their daughter. It was Holly's most prized possession from her mother.

Once Holly was packed, she went to the bathroom to shower and change. Then she waited for the others to wake up. Archimedes and Crookshanks had already left to go hunting one last time before they left. A little while, the girls started to stir, and Hermione was the first one up. She looked at Holly's bed, finding her best friend sitting on her bed reading.

"How long have you been awake?"

"A while."

"What time is it?"

"6:00"

"Why are you up so early?"

"I need to make sure everything was packed, and I want to go to the Great Hall."

Hermione looked at Holly and nodded; she wanted to spend as much time with Viktor before his ship left. Hermione felt the same way about Aleksandur. But she would see him sooner. Once Aleksandur got back to Bulgaria, he would take a portkey and come right back so that Hermione could introduce him to her parents. From there, he would ask them if she could visit him in Bulgaria. If they said yes, then Hermione would see him later in the summer.

Hermione quickly took a shower and changed, then packed her trunk. Once she was ready, she and Holly went down to the Great Hall. The girls were surprised to see so many people were up so early. Holly and Hermione guessed they weren't the only ones who wanted this term to end. As they walked into the Great Hall, Holly and Hermione heard their names being called. They turned around and saw that Viktor and Aleksandur were already there and were making their way towards them.

Viktor hugged and kissed Holly, "I had a feeling you vould be up early."

"You were right, Love, I went to bed early, and I couldn't sleep anymore. And I was anxious to see you again."

"So vos I. I had trouble sleeping last night, I vos so vorried about you."

"I'm alright, Viktor," Holly said.

Viktor looked into Holly's emerald eyes, "Are you sure, Luff?"

Holly nodded then buried her head in Viktor's chest. He wrapped his arms around Holly then kissed her head, "Come on, Luff, you need to eat."

The two couples went into the Great Hall. As soon as they entered, all the chatter stopped, and they stared at Holly. Viktor, Aleksandur, and Hermione closed in around Holly and glared at anyone that stared at Holly. Viktor and Aleksandur intimidated more people than Hermione. When they got the Gryffindor table, they closed ranks around Holly.

Viktor began to serve Holly a little bit of food, knowing she couldn't handle a lot right now. Eventually, the students started talking amongst themselves and let Holly eat in peace. When Harry came in, the same thing happened to him that happened to Holly earlier. Ron, Ginny, Neville, and the twins closed ranks around Harry and ushered him towards his sister. He sat across from her and Viktor.

"Having a good morning," Harry asked.

"As good as can be expected. You?"

"Same as you."

Holly nodded.

As soon as the Great Hall was filled and people had eaten, Dumbledore stood up to address the students, "Today we acknowledge a terrible loss. Cedric Diggory was, as you all know, exceptionally hard-working, intricately fair-minded. And most importantly, a fierce, fierce friend. I think, therefore, you have the right to know exactly how he died. You see, Lord Voldemort murdered Cedric Diggory. The ministry of magic does not wish me to tell you this. But not to do so, I think it would be an insult to his memory. Now the pain we all feel at this dreadful loss reminds me, reminds us that while we may come from different places and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one. In light of recent events, the bonds of friendship we made this year will be more important than ever. Remember that, and Cedric Diggory will not have died in vain; you remember that. And we'll celebrate a boy who was kind and honest and brave and true right to the very end."

Everyone sat in solemn silence, Viktor was holding Holly as tears ran down her face. She looked over at the Ravenclaw table and saw that Cho looked worse that Holly did. Dumbledore dismissed everyone, and they all got up silently and left the Great Hall to go outside to bit the delegations goodbye.

The students of Beauxbaton, Durmstrang, and Hogwarts, began saying their goodbyes to one another. Promises were made to keep in touch. Fleur and Gabrielle came up to Ron and Harry to thank them once again for saving Gabrielle's life. Standing apart from alone the commotion were Holly and Viktor. They were locked in an embrace, holding each other lightly. Holly had her head on Viktor's chest with her eyes closed, listening to his heart.

"I spoke vith your parents, and they agreed to let me pick you up the day after your birthday. And ve vill spend the next month together in Sophia. I vish I could spend all summer vith you, but Quidditch practice starts as soon as I get home. The first month is intense training all day long."

"Oh, Viktor, if this is going to interfere with your Quidditch, maybe I shouldn't come."

"No, no, Luff, after that, ve practice three times a veek, and I vould like you to come to watch. It's only for a few hours. Then ve vill have the rest of the time together."

"That sounds like fun. Then I'll see you on August first. In the meantime seeing a lot of Hedwig."

"I vill look forvard to each of your letters."

Viktor heard the Deputy headmaster call for the student to get on the boat. Viktor sighed, "I must go now, luff."

Holly whined, "I don't want to let you go."

"I do not want to go. But ve vill see each other soon enough."

Holly looked up at Viktor, "I love you."

He smiled down at her, "I luff you too." Then Viktor kissed her.

Viktor slowly pulled away, "I must go." He whispered.

A tear ran down Holly's cheek, Viktor wiped it away with his thumb. He gave her one last kiss and left.

While this was going on, Hermione and Aleksandur were also saying goodbye. He smiled down at Hermione, who was wrapped in his arms. "I vill see you in a couple of days, Mione, to meet your parents. If they say yes, then I vill come to pick you up in August, and ve will spend three veeks together. At least I hope your parent vill agree to that."

"I hope so too, Alek, I can't wait to see Sophia. I think it will help that Holly will be there as well. We can spend a little time with them as well. I can't wait for you to meet my parents. I wrote them all about you."

"I cannot vait either."

Aleksandur heard them call for the Durmstrang students, "I must go, Mione."

"Okay."

Aleksandur leaned down and kissed Hermione. They both sighed, and Hermione pulled away first. "You better go, I don't want you to get in trouble."

Aleksandur's laughed, "Vhot can they do, I graduate this year. But I do need to go; I am sure Viktor is upset for leaving Holly."

Hermione giggled, Aleksandur kissed Hermione one last time and left. Once he was out of sight, Hermione went looking for Holly so that they could join up with the boys and watch the delegates leave. They find the boys standing on a balcony overlooking the crowd. They watch as the Beauxbaton carriage takes to the air, and people wave goodbye. Turning towards the lake, The quartet watch as the Durmstrang ship sinks beneath the waves and disappears. Holly sighs, Harry puts his arm around his sister and kisses her temple, "Don't worry, Holly, you're going to be spending all summer with Viktor."

"I know, but it won't be the same as seeing him every day, right, Mione?"

"Yes, it's going to be strange not seeing Aleksandur every day as well. But I'll see him in a couple of days."

"Why is that?" Harry asks.

"He's coming over to ask my parents if I can spend three weeks in Bulgaria with him. If my parents say yes, I'll be going the same time Holly goes."

"That's great! I hope your parents permit you," Holly says.

"I hope so too."

While the girls are talking, Ron is scowling at Hermione behind her back. Harry looks at his friend, concerned. Harry knew that Ron had liked Hermione since the second year, but he never acted on it. Harry guessed Ron missed his chance.

Holly looked at her brother; she knew that he was going to have a hard time this summer and wanted to help him in some way. Maybe he should go with her to Bulgaria, "Harry, why don't you come with me to Bulgaria? Viktor said it wouldn't be a problem."

"I'll think about it, Holly."

"Okay."

Once the ship was out of sight, Holly, Harry, Hermione, and Ron returned to Gryffindor Tower so that they could get their familiars. Archimedes and Crookshanks readily got into their carriers while Hedwig flew into the window and got into her cage. When everyone was ready, they left; the house-elve had already taken their trunks.

And so they boarded the Hogwarts Express and headed back to London ending their fourth year. In one way, it was terrible because of the Tournament, but if it hadn't have happened, Holly never would have met Viktor. So maybe it wasn't such a bad year after all.


	15. Chapter 15 Arriving Home

As the quartet traveled back to London, Hermione and Holly talked excitedly about Hermione's possible trip to Bulgaria. While they spoke, they let Crookshanks and Archimedes out of their cages. Their familiars curled up together and instantly fell asleep. The girls continued to talk about Bulgaria and what they might see there while Harry and Ron played chess, but Ron was so distracted that he lost to Harry twice. Eventually, Ron got up and said that he was going to visit his brothers. Holly and Hermione thought that it was odd that Ron would do such a thing.

Harry sat down next to Holly, "You two were being a bit insensitive."

"Us, why?" Holly asked.

"It was like you were rubbing it in Ron's face that you have a boyfriend, Hermione. You know he has a crush on you."

"Well, if Ronald has a crush on me, he went about it all wrong in showing me. He treated me poorly all year long, and I will not tolerate being treated that way by anyone, especially by someone with the emotional depth of a teaspoon. Ron had his chance, and now I'm with Aleksandur," Hermione said.

"Fine, you're with Aleksandur, but don't flaunt it in front of him."

"I suppose I can do that," Hermione said.

"Good."

Ron never came back for the rest of the ride to London. It turned out that he ended up sitting with Lavender Brown and Parvati Patel. He had a lovely conversation with Lavender, and they promised to write to each other over the summer. While this was going on, Holly and the others were joined by Neville, Ginny, and Luna. Neville and Ginny had started dating after the Yule Ball. Ginny and Neville had hit it off so well that night that they started spending more time together. They were right for each other. Ginny brought Neville out of his shell while Neville taught Ginny patience and how to calm her temper. And as it turned out, Neville was going to ask his gran if he could spend the summer with the Weasleys.

So while they all talked amongst themselves, Harry got to know Luna a little better. Harry found Luna quite charming. Behind her dreamy attitude and strange ideas, there was a passionate person who loved to read and learn about new things. She was an adventurer and had many plans for her future. And that was something that appealed greatly to Harry. He thought that they could be great friends. Harry was also grateful for all the help that Luna had provided for his sister during the year with the Tournament. By the time they reached the station, Harry and Luna also had decided to keep in touch over the summer.

When the train finally arrived at the station, the platform was packed with parents waiting for their children. Everyone said goodbye to their friends and went in search of their families. Hermione and the Potter twins found their parents standing by each other. The Grangers had crossed into the station with the help of Remus and Sirius and had spent the entire time talking with each other.

Hermione was so happy to see her parents that she sprinted up to them and hugged them tightly, "Mum, Dad, I'm so happy to see you." Hermione said as she hugged each of her parents.

"We're so happy to see you too, love," Mr. Granger said.

"How did you get through the barrier," Hermione asked.

"With the help of Remus and Sirius." Mrs. Granger said.

"How was school, darling, did you do well on your exams?" Daniel Granger asked.

"Yes, Dad, I got all O's on everything. I ended up at the top of my class."

"Good girl, Hermione, we're so proud of you," Jean Granger said.

"Now what about this boyfriend of yours, when do we get to meet him," Her father asked.

"Aleksandur will be dropping by in a few days. He only needs to get settled back home and visit with his family for a bit."

Her parents nod.

While this is going on, Holly and Harry were making their way over to Remus and Sirius. Their parents were still worried about the twins after everything that happened during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Especially to Holly, since she had taken the brunt of the torture to protect Harry.

"Bambi, Prongslett!" Sirius yells

Holly and Harry smile, "Sirius!"

Sirius kissed each of his kids on the head. While Sirius is hugging the twins, Remus gets their trunks and shrinks them down. He puts them in his pocket and picks up the cages of Archimedes and Hedwig. When he walks back over to the group, Holly crashes into Remus and hugs him tightly, nearly making him drop the pens.

Remus puts the cages down and hugs Holly. He then kisses Holly's head, "How are you feeling, cub?"

"I'm okay. I'm starting to have nightmares, though," Holly whispers to her godfather, she didn't want Harry or Sirius to know.

"Well, we'll have to give you some dreamless sleeping potion for a while," Remus tells her.

"Thank you, Moony."

After they talk, Remus moves on to Harry and embraces him as well. It turns out he's having the same problem, but like Holly, he doesn't want anyone to know, so they don't worry about him. Right before they left, Holly and Harry hugged Hermione and told her to have a lovely summer.

"I hope to see you in Sophia, later this summer," Holly whispered.

"I hope so too," Hermione whispered back.

With that, Holly and the others took a portkey and left for the Potter Mansion. When they arrived at the mansion, the twins were greeted by all the Potter elves, but they were surprised to find a new elf there. "Winky! What are you doing here?" Holly asked when she saw the little house-elf.

The last time Holly and Harry had seen Winky, she had been a drunken mess in the kitchen, but now she looked delighted in her new Potter uniform. Winky smiled up at the twins, "I's be a new house-elf for Master Harry Potter and Mistress Holly Potter."

Holly and Harry looked at each other confused, "How did that happen," Harry asked.

"That would be mine, and Siri's doing. We were down in the kitchen and saw Winky's sorry state, and Dobby told us what happened to her. So we asked her if she would like to be a Potter house-elf," Remus explained.

"She readily agreed. Being a free elf was not something she wanted and didn't feel right to Winky. It was slowly killing her."

Holly and Harry looked at each other. Once Aleksandur explained to Holly about house-elves, she passed the knowledge onto the twins so that they had a better insight. Winky's behavior now made perfect sense. She had nothing to live for since she was dying anyway.

Holly kneeled in front of Winky and hugged her, "Welcome to the family, Winky."

The little house-elf teared up and hugged Holly back, "Thank you, Mistress Holly. Winky will serve House Potter faithfully."

Harry then kneeled, "We know you will, Winky," He then hugged her too.

The rest of the house-elves were so happy that Winky was accepted into their family. Wobbey, the head elf, clapped his hands, "Alright, everyone, back to work." With that, the house-elves popped out of existence and went back to their jobs. Wobbey stayed to greet his master and mistress. "Welcome home, Mistress, and Master Potter. I've had your rooms prepared with fresh linens if you'd like to freshen up. Dinner should be ready shortly. I'll have your trunks taken to your rooms."

"Thank you, Wobbey, we appreciate that."

With a snap of his fingers, their trunks were taken to their rooms, "I also have food for your familiars ready as well unless they would hunt?"

"That's fine, Wobbey; I think they're too tired to hunt, thank you," Harry said.

"Anything for Heir Potter."

With that, Wobbey bowed and popped away. Holly and Harry looked at their parents, "It's weird that he speaks so well."

"That was your grandparents doing. Dorea Potter wanted to have the head house-elf to be educated and well versed in case he needs to help Charlus with running the house and the finances. So, they spent a lot of time educating him. Wobbey even learned finances from the Goblins. Your grandparents paid a hefty sum to get the goblins to agree. But it was worth it in the end, to have someone with complete loyalty to the Potters helping with the finances worked in their favor."

The twins nod, then Holly yawned, "Do you think there's enough time before dinner to have a quick nap?"

"I'm sure there is, Holly. Why don't you go up and rest?"

She nodded and went up to her room. When she got to her room, Holly went to her trunk and took out Viktor's Quidditch jersey and hugged it, then laid it across the bed. She'd sleep in it tonight. Holly laid down and took a quick nap.

Thirty minutes later, Winky pops into Holly's room to wake her up for dinner, "Mistress, dinner be ready now."

Holly sat up and stretched, "Thank you, Winky, I'll be down in a moment."

She puts on her shoes and heads downstairs. The had a nice dinner of soup, roasted chicken mashed potatoes, and asparagus. For dessert, they were served Harry's favorite, treacle tarts. When the family finished their dinner, they went to the living room to talk, "So, what do you plan to do with the prize money?"

The twins looked at each other, "We gave the money to Fred and George so that they could start their joke shop," Holly said.

"We didn't feel right keeping the money. It would only remind us of what we lost. And we didn't want to give back to the Ministry, so we decided to put it to good use.

"That was very generous of you," Remus said.

"Fred and George deserve all the help they could get. Besides, Holly and I have more than enough money; we don't need it or the reminder," Harry said.

The little family talked for a bit longer, Remus was subtly asking the twins questions so that he could see how they were genuinely doing after everything that happened. Remus didn't want to push Holly and Harry to talk about it because he knew if he did, Harry would close himself off. Holly would probably speak to him but at her own time. After a while, Holly yawns, she stands up and kisses her brother, Remus, and Sirius then went up to bed. Holly goes to her bathroom and gets ready for bed. She puts on Viktor's Quidditch jersey, which reaches past her knees and a pair of shorts. She gets into bed and goes to sleep.

The rest of the family soon followed suit and went to bed. It was around three in the morning when Remus and Sirius heard a blood-curdling scream. They jumped out of bed and rushed to Holly's room. She was thrashing in her bed as if she was trying to get away from something. Remus started talking to her very softly, "Holly, Holly, it's okay, cub, you're safe. You're back home. No one's going to hurt you. Come on now, open those pretty green eyes."

Holly gasped and opened her eyes. She looked around, disoriented for a moment until she looked at Remus. Tears started spilling out of her eyes, and she latched onto Remus. "Oh, Moony, it was awful, we were back in the graveyard, and I saw Wormtail kill Cedric. But then Voldemort killed Harry!" Holly desperately looks around for her brother, "Where's Harry?!"

Sirius, who had been standing in the doorway, comes into the room, and sits down next to Holly, he hugs her tightly, "He's in his room, puppy, he's fine."

Holly shook her head, "I need to see him, Siri, could you ask him to come in here?"

"Okay, puppy, let me go get him," Sirius got up and went across the hall to Harry's room.

He opened the door and saw Harry thrashing in his bed, but no sound was coming out, "MOONY!" Sirius yelled.

"Stay right here, cub," Remus said to Holly as he rushed out of the room into Harry's room. Sirius was trying to restrain Harry but was having a hard time.

"Padfoot talk to him; you need to reassure he's safe. Holding him is only making it worse."

Sirius nods, "Come on, pup, you're safe, everything's okay. You're home now; nothing's going to happen to you here. Wake up, Prongslett, Moony, and I are here for you."

Harry sat up and yelled, but no noise came out. Sirius quickly canceled the silencing spell, Harry grabbed Sirius by the shoulders, "Where's Holly?!"

"I'm right here, Har-Bear," Holly said, standing in the doorway.

Hot tears starting falling from Harry's eyes, "He killed you, Wormtail killed you instead of Cedric."

Sirius and Remus looked at each other; the twins had almost the same nightmare. Holly rushed in the room and jumped on Harry's bed, she wrapped her arms around Harry, and they held each other tight. They sat there holding each other and rocking back and forth like they used to do when they were little and needed comfort. Sirius joined them on the bed while Remus went to get them dreamless sleep potion. He came back into the room and had the twins drink their potions. Sirius pulled out his wand and expanded Harry's bed so that they could all sleep in the bed together. Holly and Harry had no intention of sleeping apart, and Remus and Sirius didn't want to leave their children alone. Putting the twins in the middle, Remus got on one side while Sirius got on the other. They laid down and stroked Holly and Harry's hair until they relaxed.

The room was quiet when Sirius whispered."Is that Krum's Quidditch Jersey,"

"Let it go, Padfoot," Remus whispered back.

The next morning Holly and Harry woke up alone; their parents had gone downstairs to see about breakfast. When Holly and Harry woke up, they were holding hands as they used to when they were little. Holly sat up and stretched. She felt well rested after taking the dreamless sleep potion. Harry reached for his glasses while Holly got up to go back to her room. Harry's brow furrowed as he watched Holly leave his room.

"Is that Viktor's Quidditch Jersey?"

Holly smiled, "Yes, it is. We exchanged jerseys before he left. I like to sleep in it; it normally helps with my nightmares."

Harry smiled, "I'm glad you have someone, Hol."

"So am I Har-Bear, but don't worry, you'll find someone who will love you the way you deserved to be loved."

"You think so?"

"I have no doubt."

"Thanks, Holly."

"Anytime, Harry. Now, get ready. I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast."

Harry nods.

As Holly shuts his door, she thinks back to the ride back to London and how Harry had been talking with Luna. She knew that her friend had a crush on Harry and hoped that something would come of it. They made a good couple. Luna could teach Harry how to relax, and Harry could teach Luna how to stand up for herself. They would complement each other the way Neville and Ginny did.

Holly went to her room to shower and change. When she was ready, she called for Winky. Holly asked Winky to carefully wash Viktor's jersey and have it prepared for her by that evening. Holly had stolen Viktor's cologne, and she would spitz his jersey with it to have his smell. After that, Holly went downstairs to have breakfast with her family.

Holly entered the sunroom and found Remus and Sirius sitting at the kitchen table reading the Daily Prophet. They looked up when they heard Holly come into the room.

"Good morning, Cub, how are you feeling?"

"Good morning, Moony, Siri. I feel better after you gave me that potion," Holly said as she kissed her dads.

"Well, so that you know, we can only give that to you for a little while. The dreamless sleep potion is very addicting."

Holly nods.

"Where's Harry," Sirius asked.

"He should be down in a little bit," Holly said as she sat down next to Remus. He smiled at her and poured her a cup of tea, she adds milk and honey to her tea and takes a drink, sighing as the warmth fills her body.

A little while later, Harry comes into the sunroom and takes a seat next to Sirius. He greets everyone and accepts the cup of tea that Remus pours him. Bobsey comes in and informs her masters that breakfast is ready, she snaps her fingers, and their breakfast appears. Bobsey made eggs, bacon, sausage, oatmeal, croissants with jam, and bowls of fruit. The family serve themselves and begin eating their breakfast.

A little while later, Archimedes comes into the sunroom with Hedwig following behind. Hedwig lands on Harry's shoulder and nips his ear affectionately while Archimedes jumps onto Holly's lap. Holly gives him some sausage, and he jumps down to eat his breakfast on his pet bed. Harry gives Hedwig a piece of bacon, and she goes to her perch to eat. They continue to eat until Remus looks at the twins.

"How long have you two been having the nightmares?"

"Almost from the day that Cedric was killed," Harry said, and Holly nods.

"Is it every night?"

"Not every night, but when we have them, they're pretty bad," Holly tells them.

"And do you always use Silencing Charms, Harry?"

"Yeah, at first I didn't, and I woke everyone up. They kept asking me what was wrong and wouldn't leave me alone. After that, I started using the Silencing Charm."

"Do you do the same, Holly?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, because of the same thing. I didn't want to disturb anyone. I forgot to do it last night."

"I'm glad you didn't, Holly. We need to know these things so that we can help you," Sirius said.

"But-"

"No buts, we're family, we'll deal with this together. Do you understand?"

Holly and Harry look at each other, then nodded. At that moment, a large Eurasian Eagle Owl comes flying into the sunroom. It flies straight towards Holly and lands on her shoulder. The owl gently nips her ear and holds out his leg. Holly takes the letter and reads it. Holly smiles as she reads the letter that Viktor sent her.

*_My Dear Holly,*_

_*I have returned home and wanted to write to you to let you know that I have arrived home safely and to see how you are doing. Are you still having nightmares? I hope not; I cannot stand the thought of you suffering. I also wanted to let you know that my parents have everything arranged for your visit this summer. I cannot wait to see you; I have so many things to show you. A month is going to seem like forever. But we have no other choice; my Quidditch practice starts in a week so, I will be very busy, but I will try to write to you as often as possible. Ah, before I forget, this handsome owl is Vladimir, he will wait for your response if that is alright with you. I hope to hear from you soon.*_

_*All my love,*_

_*Viktor*_

"Is that from Viktor," Remus asked.

Holly smiles brightly and nods.

"He doesn't waste any time does he," Sirius askes without looking up from his paper.

Vladimir gives an indignant hoot and flies over to Sirius and nips his ear hard, "Ouch, bloody bird."

Holly giggles, "He's only defending his master, Siri," Holly says as Vladimir flies back to Holly and cuddles with her affectionately. Holly laughs and gives him some bacon. The owl flies off and perches with Hedwig and eats his bacon then drinks some water. He settles down to wait for Holly's response.

"Before I forget, Holly, I wanted to tell you that I'm coming with you to Bulgaria," Remus informs her, "Not to stay, Padfoot and I only want to see where you'll be staying, that's all."

"Okay, Moony, I'll tell Viktor when I write him."

"He already knows, that was the agreement we made when we said you could go."

Holly nods. After that, they go back to having breakfast. Once Holly finishes, she excuses herself, calls for Vladimir, and goes upstairs to respond to Viktor's letter.


	16. Chapter 16 Meet The Parents

At the Granger house, Hermione was sitting in her room reading a book when a barn owl came in through her window with a note from Aleksandur. He was letting her know that he was going to arrive on Sunday. Hermione squealed and ran downstairs; she went into the kitchen where her parents were having tea.

"Mum, Dad, I received a note from Aleksandur, he said that he'd be arriving here Sunday," Hermione informed her parents.

"Do you know at what time?" Jean asked.

"Alek said he would be here around noon,"

"Alright, I'll have lunch ready for us. How is Aleksandur getting here?"

"He'll probably take a portkey since he can't apparate without seeing where we live first."

Hermione's parents nod, "Why don't we go shopping this afternoon, Hermione."

Hermione agrees and goes upstairs to get her shoes and purse. Jean and Hermione head out to the grocery store to pick up the things they'll need for lunch. While Jean and Hermione go shopping, Dan straightens up the house a bit.

On Sunday, Hermione helps her mother prepare lunch. Hermione is so nervous that Jean shoos her upstairs so that Hermione can get ready. Hermione goes upstairs to take a shower and try to do something with her wild hair. Hermione finally decides to pin her up; then she put on a pair of jeans and a red blouse. Hermione slips on her shoes then sits down on her bed to read. Hermione was so nervous that she couldn't concentrate on what she was reading; she kept looking out the window to see if Aleksandur was coming.

Hermione finally decided to take a seat on the window seat and stare out the window. She suddenly saw a figure coming up the street; it was Aleksandur. He was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a royal blue dress shirt that brought out his eyes. He was carrying a bouquet of roses and another of orange roses and carnations. Hermione couldn't help it; she squealed when she saw him and ran downstairs.

"Mum, Dad, he's here!" Hermione yelled.

"Hermione calms down," Jean tells her daughter, giving her an indulgent smile.

Hermione was about to run to the door to open it, but her dad caught her arm.

"Let him at least ring the bell," Dan said, rolling his eyes.

As soon as the doorbell rings, Hermione rushes off to answers the door. She takes a deep breath, then opens the door. On the other side of the door, Aleksandur down at Hermione and smiles, "Herm-own-ninny, it is so good to see you."

Hermione beams at Aleksandur, "It's good to see you too, Alek, please come in."

Hermione steps aside, and Aleksandur comes in, he leans down and kisses Hermione on the cheek, causing her to blush. "Beautiful roses for my beautiful girlfriend," Aleksandur said as he offers Hermione the red roses.

She beams at him and takes the roses. Hermione takes the roses and smells them; she smiles up at Aleksandur, "Thank you, Alek, they're beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you."

Dan and Jean stand there and watch their exchange until Dan clears his throat. Aleksandur and Hermione turn and look at her parents. Hermione takes Aleksandur's hand and leads him further into the house, "Mum, Dad, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Aleksandur Ivanov. Alek, these are my parents, Daniel and Jean Granger."

Aleksandur smiles, "It is a pleasure to meet Herm-own-ninny's parents."

Aleksandur offers his hand to Dan first; Dan shakes his hand firmly. He likes that Alek has a firm handshake, "It's nice to meet you, Aleksandur."

"Please call me Alek."

Aleksandur moves on to Jean, taking her hand he kisses her knuckles and offers her the orange roses. She thanks him and takes the flowers, "I see where Herm-own-ninny gets her beauty from."

Jean blushes, "Thank you, Alek."

Dan shakes his head, "Well, we have lunch ready why don't you come into the dining room?"

Dan leads Aleksandur to the dining room and starts talking to him about what he liked to do what his plans were for the future. Aleksandur was more than ready to answer any question that Dan wanted to ask him. While they're talking, Jean and Hermione bring out the roast beef, Yorkshire Puddings, Traditional beef gravy, and roasted winter vegetables.

Jean sits next to her husband while Hermione goes and sits next to Aleksandur. Dan carves the roast and serves it on the plates while his wife puts the sides on the plates. She passes the plate to Hermione, who gives it to Aleksandur, then accepts the next dish and so on. As they eat, they have a pleasant conversation. Aleksandur tells Hermione's parents about his family that his father is head of the DMLE and that his mother is a healer.

"I have two little twin brothers, Damyan and Danail; they are eight years old and are friends with Viktor's younger siblings."

"Oh, how long have you known Viktor?" Jean asked.

"Ve grew up together."

"Are you going to play Quidditch as well," Dan asked.

"No, I plan to work in the Bulgarian Ministry of Magic. I vont to help creatures receive equal rights."

"That's a noble cause. Why would you do that?" Dan asked.

"Because they are not subhuman, they are intelligent beings that deserve to be treated with respect. Especially Vervolves, vhot they have is a disease; it vos not something they chose. Vhy should they be treated as dark creatures for that. Though in Bulgaria, it is not as bad as it is here."

Dan and Jean were impressed by how passionate Aleksandur was about this topic. They could tell he was frank and wanted to make a difference in other people's lives. Dan decided that he was a good young man. They continued to talk throughout dinner. Dan and Jean explained that they were dentists and what exactly they did. Aleksandur understood since he had gone to the Muggle library to do some research on the subject.

Dan and Jean were impressed that he would go out of his way to research their jobs so that he would have some understanding.

Once dinner was over, Jean brought out the Sherry Trifle for herself, Dan, and Viktor, for Hermione, she brought her a traditional Trifle. They had their dessert then went into the parlor where they continued to talk. It was at this point that Aleksandur breaches the subject of Hermione spending time with him in Bulgaria.

"Where would Hermione be staying," Dan asked.

"She would be staying in my family home. Her room would be by my parents' room."

"How long were you planning to have Hermione stay in Bulgaria."

Hermione took Aleksandur's hand, "We were hoping for two weeks, but if you're not comfortable with that, maybe a week? Oh, and Holly's going to be there as well with Viktor."

"Da, and Viktor's family lives a few houses down from my family and me," Aleksandur informs Hermione's parents.

"Well, we're planning on going to Paris for a month," Dan said.

"That vould be perfect, as Holly vould not be arriving until August."

Dan and Jean silently communicated, then they nodded, "I don't see a problem with it. As long as you swear, you two will behave yourselves." Dan said.

Aleksandur took out his wand, "I swear on my magic that we will not do anything inappropriate."

The room glowed gold then dimmed. Dan and Jean knew that it was severe for a witch of a wizard to swear on their magic, so they were inclined to believe Aleksandur.

"Alright, then Hermione can go for two weeks."

Hermione squealed and stood up and hugged her father, "Thank you, Daddy."

"You're welcome, love."

Hermione then hugged her mother. They talked a little while longer about what they would do in Sophia and when Aleksandur would pick up Hermione. He said he would pick her up on August first.

"That's fine; we should be home by then."

After the arrangments were made, Dan and Jean retired and went upstairs, leaving the couple to enjoy each other's company for a little while longer. Aleksandur wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulders and kissed her head. Hermione leaned against his chest, and they sat there, enjoying each other's company in peace.

Once it got late, Hermione walked Aleksandur to the door; he kissed her on the lips goodnight and walked out into the night, walking to the apparation point to apparate home. Hermione closed the door with a smile on her face. 


	17. Chapter 17 Summertime Blues

The remainder of June was rough on the Potter twins. They had constant nightmares about what happened in the Graveyard. Reliving Cedric's death and Holly's torture was taking its toll on Harry. He blamed himself for what happened to Cedric and his sister. Harry had always protected Holly from the worst of the abuse they suffered from the Dursleys, and that night at the graveyard, he had to watch helplessly as his little sister screamed and writhed in pain.

The more Harry thought about it, the angrier he got. But there was no one he could talk to. Harry knew that his attitude was worrying about Holly and his parents. But he couldn't, Harry didn't want to burden them with his problems. So he pushed his emotions down and tried to enjoy his summer with Holly.

Harry woke up one morning, feeling better after taking a dreamless sleeping potion. He went to his bathroom and got ready, then walked across the hall to Holly's, "Hol, are you awake?"

"Yeah, Har-Bear, come on in."

Harry opened the door and saw that Holly was finishing braiding her hair, and she had her firebolt lying on her bed. Harry raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing, Holly?"

She looked over at him and smiled, "Moony, Siri, and I are going to play Quidditch. They're going to help me get on the team next year. I was going to ask you if you wanted to play," Holly asked in an excited tone.

Harry couldn't help but be infected by his sister's enthusiasm. He smiled at her, "Yeah, let me go change and get my broom."

"Great, I'll meet you out at the Pitch."

Holly ran out to the pitch where Remus and Sirius were waiting for her. She had a massive smile on her face, "Harry's going to play with us."

"How did you get him to agree," Sirius asked.

"I asked, and he said yes."

"That's good; he could use the distraction."

"So, how should we do this?" Holly asked.

"Well, since Harry is going to play, Moony and I will be keepers while Harry helps you with being a chaser," Sirius tells his daughter.

Holly nods, "That's a good idea."

A little while later, Harry comes out of the house in his Quidditch gear and his Firebolt in his hand. Holly explains to him what they were going to do, and Harry agrees. They all kick off into the sky, and the game begins. They play for a few hours with Harry, Moony and Padfoot changing positions so that they could give Holly some competition. After the little family lands for lunch, Harry flings his arm around his sister's shoulder, "You've improved, Holly. I'm positive you'll become a Chaser next year."

"Thank you, Harry, during the year, Viktor helped me train as well."

"It shows. I can't wait for you to be on the team instead of a reserve," Harry said in an excited tone.

"Me either, Har-Bear."

The twins laugh and walk into the house. Remus and Sirius hang back a minute, "The game seems to have lifted Harry's spirits." Sirius said.

"Yes, it served as a great distraction for him. I hope it lasts for a while."

"Me too, Moony."

The little family went inside and had lunch that the elves had laid out for them. After lunch, Holly got Harry to go with her to the nearby village to explore. Holly and Harry walked down to the town. There was a festival going on, and there were a lot of games and rides for the twins to enjoy. Holly's excitement was so infectious that Harry couldn't help but be happy. The twins explored every inch of the fair. They ate and played games; they rode the rides and had a great time. By evening Holly and Harry were tired but happy, they got home, had a light dinner with their parents and talked for a bit then went to bed. That was the first night that Harry didn't have any nightmares about Cedric.

And so it went for a month, Holly would make Harry either play Quidditch with her or go exploring. They even went to London a few times to do some shopping, since Holly needed a new wardrobe for her trip to Bulgaria. While the twins were there, they got a new wardrobe for Harry as well. Holly did her best to keep Harry's mind occupied so that he would be able to sleep at night, and it seems to be working, his nightmares had diminished considerably. By the time their birthday rolled around, Harry was sleeping most nights without the help of any potions.

But, exploring and playing Quidditch wasn't the only thing that Holly was doing with her time. Holly decided that she wanted to learn Bulgarian so that she could surprise Viktor. Holly wasn't very good at it, but she could at least understand a few things and answer in English. Viktor had told her in one of his letters that Holly would be his grandparents and the rest of his family. While most could speak English somewhat, Viktor's grandparents couldn't; they understood it but couldn't speak it. Holly was hoping that her Bulgarian was at least passable.

Along with learning to speak Bulgarian, Holly kept in touch with Hermione. Hermione had informed her that she, too, was going to Bulgaria to spend some time with Aleksandur. Holly suggested that they portkey to Bulgaria together since the boys lived a few houses down from each other. Holly told Hermione that Remus was going to go with her to see where she would be staying. When Hermione wrote back, she agreed.

"My parents would feel more comfortable if I didn't go alone and that Remus does the same thing if he doesn't mind," Hermione wrote.

"No, of course, he won't mind, Mione, Moony considers you his daughter as well." Holly wrote back, "Why don't you spend the night on Harry and my birthday, and we'll leave the following day?"

Hermione agreed.

It turned out that Harry was not going to go with Holly to Bulgaria, "I don't want to be a fifth wheel with you and Viktor, Hol."

"You won't be Har-Bear. Viktor said he wouldn't mind at all if you came."

"Yeah, but I'm sure he'd rather spend time with you alone. It's okay, Holly, I'll go to the Burrow for a while and hang out with Fred and George."

"What about Ron?"

Harry paused, "Our friendship isn't the same anymore. He's still my friend, but I know now that he can't be counted to be there for us. He's too envious of our fame, Holly. Ron still doesn't get that we're famous because a madman murdered our parents. He also tries to use that fame to his advantage."

"I'm glad you realized that, Harry. I figured that out when he got Collin to be his servant for photos of us," Holly tells her brother.

"Yeah, well, you've always been smarter than me, Holly," Harry said with a smile.

"Yeah, I have," Holly said with a giggle.

Harry huffed and grabbed his sister, they ended up falling on the floor wrestling like they used to when they were little. Sirius walked into the living room and saw them on the floor, he shook his head and stepped over them, and went into the kitchen.  



	18. Chapter 18 Happy Birthday!

The summer past quickly and soon it was almost the Potter twin's birthday. Within that period, Holly wrote a letter to the Weasleys inviting them to Harry and her birthday, and Harry wrote to Fred and George, asking if he could spend the rest of the summer with them at the Burrow when Holly goes to Bulgaria. When Hedwig arrived, Ron was about to take the letter from her, but she flew to Fred and held her leg out for him to take it. Fred wasn't shocked to see that the message was addressed to him and George instead of Ron. After reading the letter, he hands it to his twin.

Ron looks at them in anticipation, "Well, what does Harry write?"

"We're all invited to The Potter Mansion for Holly and Harry's birthday on July 31st, and Harry wants to know if she can spend the rest of the summer with George and me," Fred tells his little brother.

"Why didn't Harry write to me?"

The twins look at each other, but it was Ginny who answered him, "Isn't it obvious, Ron? The way you behaved last year, I doubt that Harry or Holly feels very comfortable with you anymore."

"How did I behave?" Ron asked, not understanding what his little sister meant.

Ron's three siblings give him an incredulous look, "You're joking. You behaved horribly towards Harry and Holly last year," Ginny said, "You didn't believe them when they told you that they didn't enter the tournament."

"I apologized!"

"Yeah, mate, but only after the twins almost got killed," George said.

"Then you tried to use their fame to your advantage." Fred reminded him.

"I did not!"

Fred and George deadpan, "Colin." They say at the same time.

Ron turns bright red from guilt.

"And on top of all that, you insult Holly, and expected Harry to take your side over his sister, you git," Ginny told Ron, "Did you honestly think Harry would choose you over his twin?"

"Well, I-"

"It would never have happened," Fred and George said in unison.

"So, what do I do? How do I prove to Holly and Harry that I can be trusted again?"

"You're going to have to let your actions speak for you, Ronnikins," Fred said.

"You need to stop acting like a Prat and show them you know how to be a true friend," George said.

"I can do that; I can show Holly and Harry that I can be a true friend," Ron said

"It's going to be harder to convince Holly, though, since she's going to Bulgaria until the new term starts," Ginny reminds Ron.

Ron deflates slightly. He knows that of the two of them, Holly will be harder to convince since he insulted her relationship with Viktor. Ron wasn't sure if he would ever regain Holly's trust, but he had to try.

"Oh, and Ginny, Holly wants to know if you and Luna want to spend a week before their birthday with her and Hermione."

"I do but, Luna is on holiday with her dad until August," Ginny told Fred, "Let me go ask Mum before you send a response."

Ginny goes running into the kitchen to inform her mother that they were invited to the Potter twin's birthday and to ask for permission to spend a week with Holly and Hermione before Holly and Harry's birthday, "We need to ask your father, Ginny, but I'm sure he'll say yes."

Ginny squeals and kisses her mother. She knew her dad would say yes, so Ginny goes upstairs to pack. Sure enough, when Arthur gets home from the Ministry, Molly asks him if Ginny can spend a week with Holly and Hermione; he said yes. Ginny sends Pig to the Potter Mansion to let Holly know that she'll be over on Monday.

As Ginny is packing for the week, there's a knock on her door. She answers the door and Ron is standing there, "Is it true that you're going to stay with the Potters?"

"Yes."

"Why do you get to go, and I don't?"

"Because Holly invited me, not you, Ronald."

"Why didn't Harry invite me?"

"Do we have to go over this again, Ron? He doesn't want to see you. It's that simple."

"But, I'm Harry's best mate!"

"Maybe not anymore."

Ron looked at Ginny, alarmed. He knew that the Potter twins were still angry with him, especially Holly. Fred and George made him realize his mistakes last year, but he didn't think that it was enough to cost him his friendship with Harry.

Ginny noticed the stunned looked Ron's face and rolled her eyes, "I don't have time for this, Ron, I have to pack. Tomorrow I'm going to the Potter mansion," Ginny said to her brother and shoved him out of her bedroom.

The next day, Ginny arrived bright and early at the Potter mansion through the floo network. When she arrived, Holly was waiting for her. After Ginny stepped out of the fireplace, Holly hugged the younger girl, "Ginny, it's so great to see you. How have you been?"

"Good, how have you and Harry been?"

"We've been okay, having a little trouble dealing with what happened with Cedric, more Harry than me."

Ginny gave Holly a sympathetic look, "I can imagine it's been hard on both of you."

"Yes, it has, but I think with time we'll get better."

Ginny nods, "Has Hermione arrived yet?"

"No, she should be here any minute."

At that moment, the fireplace roared to life, and Hermione stepped out. Holly and Ginny hugged Hermione then helped her pull her luggage out of the fire. After that, Holly called a house-elf and asked her to take Ginny and Hermione's luggage to their rooms. The little house-elf bowed and snapped her finger, making their bags disappear.

After that, Harry came downstairs and greeted the girls, "Hey, Ginny, Hey Hermione, how are you?"

"We're good, Harry, how are you."

"Good, how has your summer been? How was France, Hermione?"

"It was good; I had a lot of fun with my parents."

"And yours, Ginny?"

"Good, I spent most of my time with Neville at Longbottom Manor. I got to know his grandmother very well. She's a tough lady, but I like her. And I finally convinced Neville to play Quidditch with my brothers and me. He turned out to be a good keeper."

"That's great, maybe we can play later when Neville arrives," Harry said.

Ginny's face lights up, "Neville's coming over too?"

"Yes, since Neville's birthday is the day before ours, we decided to celebrate them at the same time," Harry said to Ginny.

"That's wonderful, is he staying the week also," Ginny asked.

"Yeah, Neville should be here this afternoon," Harry informed the girls.

"Brilliant, in the meantime, why don't we have breakfast," Holly said to her friends and brother.

They head into the kitchen where breakfast is being served, and Remus and Sirius are waiting for them. The girls greet the twin's parents then sit down for breakfast. They sit down to a lovely English breakfast and have a friendly conversation with Remus and Sirius. They talk about the girl's plans for the week, and Remus asks Hermione if she's looking forward to going to Bulgaria as well.

"Oh, yes, Remus, I can't wait to see, Aleksandur," Hermione informed Remus, "When will we be leaving?"

"I have a portkey set up for ten in the morning on August first. Viktor and Aleksandur will meet us, and from there, we'll go to Viktor's house first then to Aleksandur's so that I might meet his parents. After that, I'll come back and tell your parents that you've settled in at Aleksandur's house."

Hermione nods, "Thank you, Remus."

"My pleasure, Hermione."

When breakfast was over, the girls walked down to the village to explore and do a little shopping. Harry decided to work on his summer homework while he waited for Neville to show up. While this was going on, Remus and Sirius were making the last minute arrangements for Neville and the twin's birthday party.

The girls came back to the Manor at noon for lunch; they found Harry waiting in the living room for Neville to arrive. Ginny was so excited to see her boyfriend even though it had only been a week since Ginny had seen Neville. The fire roars to life, and Neville steps through with his suitcase. He brushes the soot off of his shirt then steps out of the fireplace. Neville spots Ginny and smiles brightly. Ginny squeals and runs into Neville's harms, the couple hug and kiss each other sweetly.

"Ginny, I didn't know you were going to be here."

"Yeah, Holly asked me to come to spend the week with her and Hermione before they go to Bulgaria."

Neville smiled, "I'm glad you're here, love," Neville said.

"Me too."

Neville then greeted Harry, Holly, and Hermione. After that, a house-elf came and took Neville's bags to his room, and the friends went to the garden to have lunch with Remus and Sirius. They had roast beef sandwiches, potato salad, pumpkin juice, and treacle tarts for lunch. An hour after lunch, Harry, Holly, and the others went to their rooms to change into their bathing suits to go swimming in the indoor pool that Remus and Sirius had installed. They swim and play around for a few hours then head up to their rooms to shower and change for the evening meal.

The next day, Remus took the kids to London to show Ginny and Neville Muggle London and take them shopping. He let Hermione take the lead as to what to show Neville and Ginny. She took them to all the famous tourist spots. They rode the London Eye; they saw Buckingham Palace and Parliament. After lunch, they continued shopping then later that evening took in a show. Ginny and Neville had the time of their lives riding around in the cabs and taking in all the sights that London had to offer. After the show, they met up with members of the Order of the Phoenix who escorted them back to the Potter Mansion.

For the rest of the week, the quintet hung out at the Potter home. Hermione, Ginny, and Holly were sometimes found in Holly's room talking about their boyfriends and the girls' trip to Bulgaria, while Harry and Neville played Wizard's Chess. Two days before Neville and the twin's birthday, Fred and George arrived, and they were now able to play a decent game of Quidditch with Neville as the Keeper for both teams. They were finally able to convince Hermione to play Quidditch with them, so they took it easy on her so as not to scare her.

On July 31st, Remus and Sirius were up early decorating the house for the trio's birthday. They had streamers and balloons in red and gold everywhere. The first thing they had was a birthday breakfast with the family and Neville's grandmother and great uncle. The house-elves had outdone themselves with breakfast, making everyone their favorite foods. After breakfast, everyone went upstairs to get ready for the party.

Around noon the guests started to arrive. Mrs. Weasley came over first with a birthday cake and food for the party. Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Dumbledore showed up as well, along with Members of the Order of the Phoenix showed up for the party as well as many of Holly and Harry's friends from school. Ron showed up a little later with his dad and brothers. He felt terrible that he wasn't invited to stay with the twins earlier in the week, but Ron finally understood that he screwed up.

When Neville and twins came down, they were wished happy birthday by everyone that was there. Mrs. Weasley crushed the twins and Neville in a bear hug and kissed each of them on the cheek much to Harry and Neville's embarrassment. From there, they were passed around to everyone else and were hugged and told happy birthday. At that time, Holly, Harry, and Neville met the two oldest of the Weasley clan, Bill and Charlie.

Bill was tall, thin, handsome, and had red hair like the rest of the Weasley family. He wore it long and in a ponytail, and he had an earring with a fang dangling from it. While Charlie was short and stocky, and he had muscled arms. His face was weather-beaten from working outdoors and was so freckled that he looked tanned. His fingers were usually covered in calluses and blisters, and he had a sizeable shiny burn on one of his arms. Like all the Weasley family, Charlie had red hair.

Bill shook Harry's hand, "It's nice to meet you, Harry," Then he kissed Holly's hand, making her blush, "And you, Holly."

"It's nice to meet you too, Bill. We're glad that you were able to make it to our birthday party," Holly said.

Bill smiled, "Thank you, Holly."

After that, Charlie introduced himself to the twins, patting Harry on the back, nearly knocking Harry over. He smiled at Harry and Holly. "It's nice to meet both of you. Thank you for inviting me to your party."

"You're welcome, Charlie, thank you for coming."

After that, the two brothers turned to Neville, "So you're the one dating our baby sister, Neville Longbottom." Bill said.

Neville squared his shoulders and looked bill straight in the eyes, "Yes, I am." Then he took Bill's hand in a firm grip and shook it.

Bill smiled, "A firm handshake, I like that. Charlie, he seems like a good kid," Bill tells his brother.

Charlie shakes Neville's hand, watching to see if Neville was frightened of him. Neville wasn't scared, he was nervous, but he wasn't afraid of Ginny's older brothers. Ginny had told him all about her brothers, so Neville was prepared to meet them. When Charlie saw that Neville wasn't afraid of him, he nods his head in approval. Charlie slaps Neville on the back.

"Happy birthday, Mate."

"Thank you, Charlie."

After their introductions, Holly suggests that they all play Quidditch until lunch was ready. As they walk to the pitch, Ron grabs Harry by the arm to stop him. Harry looks at Ron curiously, "Is there something that you need, Ron?"

Ron looks at the ground and shuffles his feet, the Ron looks up at Harry, "I only wanted to apologize to you, Harry, for the way I acted last year. I should have known that you and Holly would never have entered the Tournament on your own. I shouldn't have been jealous, and I shouldn't have said that Viktor was using Holly. I had no right to ask you to choose between your sister and me. And I shouldn't have used your fame to my advantage."

"No, you shouldn't have, Ron. And I think you should apologize to Holly about Viktor, though, according to Moony, she's like my Mum and can hold a grudge so it may be more difficult for you to get her to forgive you."

"Do you think she will forgive me?" Ron asked.

"I don't know, Ron. Give her some time, and she might. I can tell you one thing; Holly will never be as close to you as she once was. And frankly, neither will I. I'm sorry." Harry told Ron.

Ron nodded, he hadn't realized how much damage he had done, but Ron had no other choice but to accept it. Harry patted Ron on the back. "Why don't we play Quidditch and get your mind off things for a while?"

Ron gave Harry a sad smile but nodded; the two friends walked towards the Quidditch Pitch, where everyone else was waiting for them.

After they played Quidditch for a while, Everyone goes inside so they could have lunch and later open presents. They had a birthday feast provided by Molly and the house-elves. The twins and Neville were served all their favorite foods, and everyone was having a grand time. when they finished with lunch, Sirius clapped his hands, "It's present time!"

Everyone gathered in the living room where there were a ton of presents for the birthday trio. Remus and Sirius started to hand out the gifts; the trio got a variety of gifts from candies from Honeydukes to books and broom care kits. The big surprise was that Neville got a Firebolt given to him by his grandmother so that he could try out for Keeper the following year.

"I expect you to make the team, Neville," Augusta tells her grandson.

"Don't worry, Lady Longbottom, Neville is the best Keeper now that Wood is gone, he'll make the team easy," Ginny assures her.

Augusta smiles at Ginny's confidence.

The next gift that Holly and Neville got was their Quidditch from Remus and Sirius. Holly and Harry got wand holsters from their parents and new robes from Professor McGonagall. Neville received new plants for his garden and a book on Muggle and magical plants. After all the presents where opened, they had chocolate cake and ice cream. A few hours later, the party finally wound down, and everyone started going home. Remus, Sirius, and the twins thanked everyone for coming and bid them goodnight.

Holly and Hermione hugged Ginny, "We'll write you and let you know how things are going in Bulgaria," Holly told Ginny.

"You better, I expect a letter every day," Ginny said with a grin.

Holly and Hermione looked at each, "Okay, once a week will work," Ginny said. The girls laugh and hug Ginny again.

"Take care of Harry for me, Ginny. He's still angry about Cedric. and he needs the distraction."

"Don't worry, Hol, the twins, and I will keep him busy. And Neville is spending the rest of the summer with us as well. So that will help."

"Thank you."

With that, they say goodbye to the Weasley, and they floo back to the Burrow. Once they've gone, Holly and Hermione head upstairs to go to bed, they need to get up early to have breakfast and portkey to Bulgaria with Remus. And once they leave, Harry would head over to the Burrow for the rest of the summer. 


	19. Chapter 19 Arriving In Bulgaria

The next day, Holly woke up before dawn. She was so excited to see Viktor that she couldn't sleep anymore. Holly jumped out of bed, went to her closet to pick out the perfect outfit, then went to her bathroom to take a shower and get ready. After her shower, Holly curled her hair and applied a little makeup. She looked at herself in the mirror and nodded. Holly called for Bobsey, "Good morning, Mistress."

"Good morning, Bobsey; is anyone else awake yet?"

"No, Mistress, nobody bes awake yet, but we elves."

Holly nods, "Would you take my luggage downstairs and ask the kitchen to get breakfast started?"

Bobsey nods, she snaps her fingers, and Holly's luggage disappears. She then pops away to the kitchen to get breakfast started. When Holly walks out of her room, she hears Hermione's shower going. Holly smiles, knowing that her best friend can't wait to get going either. Holly makes her way downstairs and into the kitchen, where Wobbey is overseeing breakfast for his masters. He looks up when he hears Holly enter the kitchen.

"Good morning, Mistress. Would you like some coffee or tea?"

"Good morning, Wobbey. Could I have some coffee with milk, please?"

"Of course, Mistress."

Wobbey snaps his fingers, and a cup of coffee appears on the breakfast table. Holly smiles at the little elf and sits down to have her coffee and watch the sunrise, "Breakfast will be ready shortly, Mistress Holly. Would you like me to wake the others?"

"Yes, please, Wobbey."

At that moment, Hermione comes skipping down the stairs and comes into the kitchen. Hermione smiles when she sees Holly sitting at the kitchen table, "Good morning, Holly."

"Good morning, Hermione."

"Have you been up long?"

"I've been up since before dawn; I couldn't sleep anymore. I'm too excited to see Viktor."

"I know how you feel; I woke up a little after you did but read for a while. I can't wait to see Aleksandur either."

"Would you like some tea, Miss Hermione?" Wobbey asked when Hermione sat down next to Holly.

"Yes, please, Wobbey, with milk and lemon."

Wobbey bowed and snapped his fingers, a cup of tea appeared in front of Hermione. Hermione thanked the house-elf and began sipping her tea. Holly asked Wobbey to bring down Hermione's luggage also and put it in the living room. The head elf bowed and popped away. A little while later, Remus and Harry come down in their pajamas and greet the girl.

"Good morning, Holly, Hermione."

"Good morning, Remus. Good morning, Harry." The girls say in unison.

"I see that you two are already ready," Remus observed.

Holly smiled at him, "We were too excited to sleep anymore, so we decided to get an early start."

Remus nodded, understanding how the girls were feeling. He kissed both girls on the head then sat down at the table next to Harry, who had already greeted his sister and best friend. A cup of tea appeared in front of Remus precisely the way he liked it, while a cup of hot cocoa appeared in front of Harry.

"Where's Sirius," Holly asked.

"He'll be down in a little bit, Holly."

Holly nods and continues to drink her coffee. A few minutes later, Sirius stumbles down the stairs and into the kitchen. His hair is disheveled, and he still looks a bit tired. Greeting Holly and Hermione with a kiss on the head, he flops down in the chair next to Holly and begins sipping the coffee that has already appeared in front of him, "Thank you, Wobbey."

"You're welcome, Master, Sirius," Wobbey called from the kitchen.

Sirius drinks his coffee in silence for a bit until he wakes up then he turned to Holly and Hermione, "Are you two excited to be heading to Bulgaria?"

The girls beam at Sirius, "Yes, we are, Sirius. We've been packed and ready since the beginning of the week," Hermione told him.

Sirius only grunts, not liking that the girls were going to Bulgaria alone. Holly patted Sirius' arm, "Nothing is going to happen, Sirius, I promise."

"It better not."

"The girls are going to be fine, love. Have a little faith," Remus tells his husband.

"I'm not worried about the girls; it's those two boys I'm worried about."

"Sirius, Aleksandur and Viktor and gentlemen. They would never do anything inappropriate." Hermione remarked.

Sirius grunts again, and Holly and Hermione roll their eyes.

A few minutes later, Bobsey comes out and serves breakfast to her masters. She snaps her fingers, and the table fills with a platter of scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, fruit, beans, mushrooms, and tomatoes, toast, more coffee and tea, and some pumpkin juice.

"Thank you, Bobsey," Remus said then begins to serve himself some eggs.

Once everyone has been served, they all begin eating their delicious breakfast. A little while later, Archimedes, Crookshanks, and Hedwig come in through the back door, Hedwig lands on Harry's shoulder and nips his ear fondly, while Archimedes jumps onto Holly's lap, and Crookshanks does the same thing. The twins and Hermione give their familiars some bacon and sausage, and the animals go to their spots to eat their breakfast in peace.

"Harry, you will look after Archimedes for me, won't you," Holly asked.

"Of course, Holly, he can sleep in my room if he wants."

"Good, thank you."

"He won't be lonely, Holly, Crookshanks will be here to play with him," Hermione reminded her best friend.

Once breakfast was over, Remus goes upstairs to shower and change. They still had an hour before they had to portkey to Bulgaria. Hermione and Holly went upstairs to brush their teeth, then went into the living room to wait for Remus. Exactly at 9:00 Remus comes downstairs. He takes out his wand and shrinks the girls' bags, and they put them in their purses.

"Alright, the portkey will activate in fifteen minutes, so say goodbye."

Holly hugged Sirius and kissed him on the cheek, "Be careful, Bambi, and have fun."

"Thank you, Siri, and I will."

Holly then gets a bear hug from her brother, "Harry, are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah, Holly, don't worry about me, I'm going to be fine."

"I'll always worry about you, Har-Bear."

"Thanks, Hol."

Holly and Harry hug once more, then Remus looks at his watch, "It's time to go, girls."

Remus takes a crushed tin can out of his pocket then tells Holly and Hermione to hold on to it. At exactly 9:15, the Portkey activates, and Remus, Holly, and Hermione have been whisked away to Bulgaria. It only takes a few seconds for them to reach their destination. They land in the Bulgarian Ministry of Magic. When they land, Remus has to steady Holly as she almost falls face-first onto the floor.

Holly turns bright red when she hears someone chuckle. She looks up and sees Viktor standing there with his father, Marko. Viktor walks toward Holly and hugs her, "I see you are not ffery good at traffling by portkey."

Holly blushed even more profound, "No, I've only ever done twice before."

Viktor chuckles and hugs her tighter, "Velcome to Bulgaria, Luff," He said, then pecked her lips.

While this is going on, Hermione is hugged by Aleksandur and kissed on the cheek, "I haff missed you, Malka Zvezda (Little star.)"

Hermione blushed, "I missed you too, Alek."

Aleksandur takes Hermione by the hand and pulls her towards his father, "Hermy-own-ninny, I vould like you to meet my father, Andrian Ivanoff."

Andrian smiles at Hermione and kisses her hand, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Hermione." Andrian's English is a little better than his son's.

Hermione blushed, "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Ivanoff."

"Please, call me Andrian."

"Alright, Andrian."

Once their introductions are made, and Holly hugs Viktor's father, Marko, Remus steps forward to say hello to the boys and Marko and introduce himself to Aleksandur's father, "Hello, I'm Remus Lupin, I was asked by Hermione's parents to escort her here. I hope you don't mind?"

"No, of course not, Remus, you are more than velcomed here," Andrian said.

"Thank you, Mr. Ivanoff. I only came to make sure the girls arrived safely and to see where they'll be staying."

Both Marko and Andrian nod in understanding. Since the girls were underage, it only made sense that an adult would escort them. So, they didn't take any offense what so ever.

"Please, Mr. Lupin, call me Andrian."

"As long as you call me Remus."

"Alright, shall we head home," Marko asked.  



	20. Chapter 20 Belated Party

Viktor takes Holly by the hand, and Aleksandur holds Hermione's hand. The young couples apparate to Viktor's home first with Marko side along apparating with Remus, Andrian goes home to make sure that everything is ready for Hermione. They arrive in Viktor's back yard, where they are all greeted by Viktor's mother, Anna.

She smiles at Holly and pulls the young woman into a hug, "Velcome, Holly, to our home."

"Thank you, Mrs. Krum, I'm so happy to be here," Holly said as she hugs the woman back.

"Please, Holly, call me Anna."

"Thank you, Anna."

Anna greets Remus, Hermione, and Aleksandur. She led them all into the house where Viktor's family is waiting for them. Viktor's grandparents are standing in the living room, and Viktor's siblings come running down the stairs to greet Holly and Viktor. Viktor smiles at his younger siblings and hugs them when they reach him.

"Viktor ve are so glad you are home," Yoseph said to his older brother.

Viktor ruffles his little brother's hair. Yoseph huffs and pushes Viktor's hand away and smooths out his hair. Viktor then picks up his little sister, Sofeja and kisses her cheek, she giggles and kisses him back.

"Is this your girlfriend, Viktor?" Sofeja asked.

"Da, Sofeja, this is Holly Potter. Holly, this is is my little sister, Sofeja, and my brother Yoseph."

Holly smiles at the children, "It's nice to meet both of you," Holly said as she offers her hand to Yoseph.

Yoseph takes her hand and kisses her knuckles, "It's nice to meet you, Holly, you are beautiful," He told her.

Holly blushes, Sofeja giggles, and Viktor rolls his eyes. Viktor then introduces them to Hermione and Remus. Yoseph does the same thing to Hermione and shakes Remus' hand. After that, they all go into the living room to meet Viktor's grandparents.

"And these are my paternal grandparents, Iordan and Anastasiya Krum."

Immediately, Viktor's grandmother brought Holly into a hug and kissed her on the cheek, "Khubavo e da se zapoznaem, Kholi,(It's nice to meet you, Holly.)" Anastasiya said in Bulgarian.

"Khubavo e da se zapoznaem I s vas, gospozho Krum (It's nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Krum.)" Holly answered.

Everyone looked at Holly surprised except for Hermione, "Luff, when did you learn Bulgarian," Viktor asked.

Holly blushed, "Hermione and I have been learning to speak Bulgarian all summer. Hermione is better at it, of course."

Hermione blushed, "No, I'm not, Holly. We're the same."

"I think it is vonderful thot the two of you learned to speak our language," Aleksandur said.

"Not very well, I'm afraid, at least not yet," Hermione replies.

"Nevertheless, Ve appreciate the effort," Anna said and hugs Holly.

Remus smiled proudly at the girls.

"Now, let me show you to your room, Holly," Anna said to the redhead.

Anna wrapped her arm around Holly's waist and led her upstairs while Viktor followed behind carrying Holly's trunk. Anna led Holly into a room next to Sofeja and down the hall from Viktor's room. Anna opened the door to Holly's bedroom, and Holly gasped. It was a beautiful Victorian-style bedroom with a four-post bed and crystal chandeliers. She walked into the bedroom and went over to the french door when Holly opened them she had a view of the beautiful mountains.

Holly turned around and smiled at Anna, "This room is beautiful."

"I am glad you like it, Holly, I had it done especially for you."

"Oh, Anna, you didn't have to go through the trouble."

"It vas no trouble at all, only a vave of a vand," Anna said with a giggle.

Remus walked into the bedroom and whistled, "This is beautiful, thank you, Anna, for doing this for my little girl."

"You are velcome, Remus; I enjoy decorating."

Remus walked over to Holly and hugged her, "Well, now that you're all settled, I think I should head over with Hermione and Aleksandur to get her settled in as well."

"Okay, Remus," Holly said as she hugged her Dad.

"Have a nice summer, Holly, and Sirius, and I will see you on the platform before you head off to Hogwarts."

"Okay, give my love to Sirius and Harry for me."

"I will, Love." Remus kissed Holly's forehead, then he said his goodbyes to the Krum family and followed Aleksandur and Hermione downstairs so that they could apparate to Aleksandur's house.

After Remus left Anna, Viktor and Sofeja left Holly's room so that she could unpack and get settled in. Holly took her clothes out of her trunk and put them away in the draws, then took her toiletries to her bathroom and put them away. Once she was settled, Holly made her way downstairs, where she could hear a lot of voices. Holly peeked into the living and saw that it was full of people. Viktor was sitting among them. He looked up and smiled when he saw Holly. Holly's heart skipped a beat at seeing Viktor's smile.

Viktor stood up and made his way over to Holly, he leaned down and kissed her cheek, "Viktor what's going on, who are all these people?"

"This is the rest of my family; they all want to meet you. And since I missed your birthday yesterday, ve are having a birthday party for you," Viktor said with a smile.

"Oh, Viktor, you don't have to do that. I don't need another party."

"I know, malŭk gŭlŭb, (Little dove), but I vanted to make you happy. I hope you don't mind."

"No, I don't, Viktor, thank you."

"Then let me introduce you to my family."

Viktor took Holly's hand, and they walked into the parlor where Viktor's father, grandfathers, and Uncles were sitting. They all stood up when Holly walked in and introduced themselves. Holly smiled and shook everyone's hand. She sits down with Viktor and listens as they talk about Bulgaria's chance of making the Quidditch World Cup again. They did their best to speak in English to include Holly in their conversations.

After a while, Anna came into the parlor and asked Holly if she would like to join the women in the kitchen who were preparing her birthday dinner. Holly agreed, and Viktor reluctantly lets her go. When Holly walked into the kitchen with Anna, she noticed that music was playing and that the women in Viktor's family were hard at work cooking dinner. They were all greeted Holly and started talking to her, some in English, some in Bulgarian. Holly was able to catch some of what they were saying in Bulgarian and tried her best to keep up. Anna led Holly over to the table and had her sit down.

"Don't you need help?"

"Off course not, ve do not want you to cook for your birthday. I vanted to show you pictures of Viktor when he vas a baby," Anna said with a laugh.

She handed a massive photo album over to Holly, a cup of tea and a piece of Baklava. Holly happily ate the Baklava while she looked at the pictures. There were photos of Viktor first riding a kiddie broom around the house. Holly laughed when she saw a picture of Viktor covered in mud, holding a snitch in his hand when he was about five years old. There were photos of Viktor when his mother was bathing him when he was a toddler. There were pictures of him getting his wand and when he went off to Durmstrang. His first Quidditch match as a professional. Viktor had blood on his face from where a bludger had hit him and broke his nose, but he still caught the snitch. Holly winced when she saw that photo.

After a while, Viktor came into the kitchen to check on Holly. He could hear Holly and the women laughing from the living room, and Viktor started getting suspicious. When he walked in, Viktor found Holly sitting at the kitchen table looking at his baby book. His mother would point out pictures in the album, and all the women would start laughing.

Viktor groaned, "Mama, must you embarrass me by showing my girlfriend my baby pictures?"

Anna walked up to her son and pinched his cheek, "Off course, I must embarrass you, vhat fun vould it be if I did not?" Anna said with a laugh.

Holly giggled at watching Viktor turn bright red. He playfully glared at her and left the kitchen with all the women and his girlfriend laughing at him.

"Ve told you not to go in there," His father tells him.

"Who do you think they are laughing at? Vhy us, of course." Viktor's grandfather said.

A few hours later, when dinner was ready, the Krum women brought everything out to the dining room table. There was an array of dishes, some Holly recognized, some she didn't. Once everyone was seated and served some wine, including Holly, Marko stood up and gave a toast.

"Ve are gathered here this evening to velcome a very special guest into our home and to celebrate her birthday. Holly, I never thought that I vould see that day that my son vould be so happy until he met you. So, on behalf of my family and myself, I'd like to velcome you into our home. Ve hope you enjoy your summer here and vish you a happy belated birthday."

The Krum family raise their glasses to Holly and toast her. Holly gets so choked up she doesn't know what to say. Viktor smiles at her and kisses her head, "It's alright, Luff."

Holly clears her throat, "Thank you, everyone, for this birthday dinner. I appreciate all the effort that went into this, and thank you, Anna and Marko, for letting me into your home and your lives."

Everyone cheered, and they began to serve the food. Viktor made sure that Holly tried a little bit of everything. It turned out that her favorite thing was the Sarmi or stuffed vine or cabbage leaves. Holly also liked the tarator, which is a yogurt-based soup of cucumbers, garlic, dill, and sometimes walnuts that is served cold in the summer. And for dessert, Holly had a piece of banitsa, filled with apples and walnuts.

After dinner, Anna and Marko gave Holly her birthday present. The gave her a golden snitch bracelet to match the necklace that Viktor had given her. And Viktor had given Holly a pair of diamond earrings. Holly was so overcome with gratitude that she cried. Anna hugged Holly and told her that it was alright and kissed her cheek. Viktor then took Holly outside on the balcony to look at the stars until bedtime. They stood there and hugged and kissed in the moonlight.

"Did you enjoy your birthday, Holly?"

"Oh, yes, Viktor, thank you."

"Anything for you, Luff," Viktor said and kissed Holly's lips.

Holly sighed and looked into Viktor's eyes, "I love you so much, Viktor."

"I luff you too, Holly."


	21. Chapter 21 Vacation Begins

After Aleksandur, Hermione and Remus left Holly and Viktor, and they apparated to Aleksandur's house, where Andrian and Violeta were waiting for them, "Hermione, Remus, velcome to our home. Please come inside," Violeta said after hugging Hermione and shaking Remus' hand.

Violeta led Hermione and Remus into the parlor, where she had a tea set waiting for them. They sat down and had a nice cup of tea and talked about how Hermione's holiday in France was. She told Aleksandur's parent that she had a wonderful time wither parents.

"We go almost every summer to France for a holiday. This year we went to Paris so that my mother and I could do a little bit of shopping for this trip. But most of my shopping I did with Holly and our other best friend Ginny Weasley," Hermione explained.

They continued to talk for a while and have their tea until Remus noticed the time, "Would you mind if we cut this short Violeta? I must be going soon."

"Off course not, Remus, let me show you to your room, Hermione." They went upstairs and showed Hermione her room that was right next to Aleksandur's parents' room. Alek's little twin brothers' room was in the middle of the hallway while Aleksandur's was at the end of the hall.

Hermione stepped in and immediately fell in love with her room. It was similarly designed like Holly's, but it was done in gold and white there was an enormous crystal chandelier hanging in the middle of the room and a writing desk in the corner. Hermione had a private bathroom with a large bathtub and shower. Hermione turned to Violeta and hugged her, "I love it. Thank you."

"You are velcome, Hermy-own-ninny," Violeta said, hugging the young woman back.

Remus looked at his watch and then hugged Hermione, "Well, Love, it's time for me to go. I have to meet your parents and let them know you've settled into your room. We'll see you on the Platform. Don't worry about Crookshanks, Siri, and I will bring him to the station."

Hermione hugged Remus back, "Thank you, Remus, for everything."

"You're welcome, Hermione."

Back at the Potter mansion, Harry was packing his things so that he could head out to the Burrow and spend time with the Weasley twins. Harry was also hoping to spend a little time with Luna as well. Luna had been writing him all summer, and Harry had been writing her as well, though no one knew about it, not even Holly. Harry didn't want anyone to make a big deal out of it. But secretly, Harry hoped that all the writing that he and Luna were doing was a big deal after all.

Harry liked Luna, more than he thought possible. He was hoping that she liked him more than a friend as well. And the only way Harry was going to find out was by talking to Luna in person. So, with Harry, all packed, all he had to do was wait until the following day, and he would be heading out to the Burrow to spend the rest of the summer there.

The next morning, Harry had breakfast for the last time with his parents. Remus and Sirius made sure that Harry had a hearty breakfast with them, if for no other reason than to spend more time with him before Harry had to leave for the Burrow. The little family talked for a while. Hedwig sat there with Harry eating bacon from his hand. When it was time for Harry to go, Remus shrunk Harry's new trunk and handed it to Harry.

"Be sure to have Arthur or Molly resize it for you when you get to the Burrow, okay, Harry?" Remus told his son.

"Okay, Moony," Harry said while hugging his father.

Remus passed him off to Sirius, "Have a good summer, Pup. Don't forget to write now and then. And we'll see you on the Platform on September 1st," Sirius said then kissed Harry's cheek.

"Okay, Padfoot," Harry told his dad.

"Alright, off you go, before I change my mind and keep you here," Sirius said.

Harry laughed then stepped into the floo, he called out the Burrow and disappeared in a ball of green flames. A little while later, Harry arrived at the Burrow, where Fred, George, and Ginny were waiting for him. Harry stumbled out of the fireplace and was caught by the twins before he fell face first, "Ever the graceful one, this one," George said.

"Thanks, guys," Harry said as he straightened up and dusted himself off.

"Any time Harrikins," Fred replied with a grin.

Ginny shoved Fred out of the way and hugged Harry, "It's good to have you here, Harry."

"Thank you, Ginny," Harry looked around and noticed that Neville wasn't there yet, "Where's Nev?"

Ginny blushed, "Oh, he'll be coming by around lunchtime."

Harry smiled as Ginny's reaction, standing behind his brothers and sister, was Ron. He looked very uncomfortable seeing Harry standing there. After a while, Ron finally stepped forward and said hello to Harry. Their greeting was a little stiff and strained.

"Hey, Ron, how are you?"

"I'm good. You?"

"Good, what have you been up to."

"Nothing much. Um, if you'll excuse me, I have a letter to write to Lavender."

"Okay."

With that, Ron went upstairs to his bedroom. Harry looked at the twins giving them a questioning look, "He and Lavender have been writing each other all summer. She even invited him to spend the day with her at her house with her and Paravati." Ginny answered, instead.

"I think he may take her up on it," George said.

"Well, enough about Ronnikins, why don't we go play some Quidditch. I'm sure it's been no fun playing with only your parents, right, Harry?"

"No, it has been especially since it's mostly been to improve Holly's game."

"I'm sure her game will improve with Viktor while she's in Bulgaria, Mate," Fred said, waggling his eyebrows.

Harry glared at Fred.

Ginny smacked Fred in the arm, "Shut up; that's Harry's sister you're talking about."

So, the twins, Harry, and Ginny went outside to play a little Quidditch until lunch when Neville got there.

Back in Bulgaria, Holly comes downstairs, wearing a pair of jeans, her sneakers, and a green t-shirt that made her green eyes sparkle. Holly had her in a French braid and had on her golden snitch necklace and the earrings that Viktor had given her along with the bracelet that his parents had gifted her.

Holly made her way into the dining room, where the Krum family were sitting down for breakfast, "Good morning everyone," Holly greeted happily.

Viktor's face lit up when he turned around and saw Holly, "Good morning, Luff, how did you sleep?"

"Very well, Viktor, thank you."

"That is good; I am glad to hear that."

Holly sat down next to Viktor and kissed him on the cheek. Once Holly was seated, Anna called for the house-elf to serve breakfast. They served Banitsa, which is layers of Bulgarian cheese (similar to a whipped feta), eggs, and yogurt are wrapped tightly into sheets of paper-thin filo dough before getting spiraled around a circular pan and baked in the oven until crispy. The slice serves the spherical pie either with a dollop of fresh yogurt or a drizzle of honey. Princesses, This open-faced breakfast sandwich is made with a mixture of minced meat and baked cheese blended together with a whisked egg and baked until the mixture bubbles on top of a thick slice of fresh bread. And Parjeni Filiiki, Similar to French toast, this classic Bulgarian dish is a favorite for weekend breakfasts. Thick slices of freshly baked bread are dipped in a batter of eggs, flour, and milk before getting pan-fried on each side until golden. Unlike its French cousin, parnjeni filiiki is never drenched in syrup but is instead served.

Holly's mouth watered when she saw the food, and she made sure to try a little bit of everything, much to Viktor's delight. After breakfast, Holly went upstairs to brush her teeth then met Viktor downstairs; Viktor was going to take Holly to explore the Muggle side of Sofia that day, and the following day, he would show her the magical district.

They first went to St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral. The cathedral dates to the 1880s. This was directly after the Ottomans were overthrown, and the state of Bulgaria was re-established. It was initially dedicated to the Russian soldiers that lost their lives in the course of this liberation.

After that, they went to St. George Rotunda. The heart of ancient Serdica and the oldest building in modern Sofia, this red brick church was built back in 300s. Then the couple went to Vitosha Boulevard, The fanciest street in the city, Vitosha Boulevard is where all the posh boutiques and fashion houses are clustered. There, Viktor and Holly explored every shop and booth, and Viktor bought Holly whatever she wanted. They also stopped to have lunch at an outdoor café. After lunch, the happy couple continued to explore the city until it was time for dinner, then headed home.


	22. Fun In the Sun

The following day at breakfast, Viktor informed Holly that instead of going to the Wizarding District that day, they would be going with Hermione and Aleksandur somewhere else.

"Where are we going," Holly asked.

Viktor smiled and wrapped his arms around Holly and kissed her lips, "Alek and I haff decided to take you and Herm-own-ninny to the beach in Sozopol."

Holly smiled brightly, "Are we going to spend the whole day there?"

"No, ve will be spending three days there. Ve made reservations at a Vizarding hotel there. You and Herm-own-ninny vill be sharing a room vhile Alek, and I vill be sharing another. So please go pack a bag, ve vill meet Alek and Herm-own-ninny after breakfast."

Holly squealed and kissed Viktor on the lips. She rushed upstairs and went to her room to pack a small suitcase. Holly packed some shorts, t-shirts, and dresses. Just in case it got chilly, she packed a sweater and some jeans. Holly stood there and thought for a moment, should she bring the bikini that she bought in London or her one piece? Holly shrugged and packed them both.

Over the past year and summer, Holly had filled out more. Holly had always been fit, but now her womanly figure was more pronounced. Her hips were fuller along with her breasts, and she now had an hourglass figure. She had blossomed into a young woman and was leaving her baby fat behind, and it was Ginny who convinced her to buy the bikinis in the first place to show off her new curves, though Holly didn't think she'd get a chance or the courage to wear them. But Holly bought them anyway.

Now she was going to get the opportunity, and Holly was a little nervous about what Viktor was going to think. She hoped he liked it and didn't think it was improper. Holly knew that it would be considered inappropriate in England, but they were going to go to a Muggle beach, so maybe it wouldn't matter.

Holly shook her head, 'I'm overthinking this. I'll bring a wrap.' Holly thought. She packed the bikinis and the wraps that she bought for them. Holly also packed some sandals and sneakers. Once she was ready, Holly brought down her suitcase and left it in the foyer. A little while, there was a knock on the front door, and the house-elf answered it. "Good morning, Sir Aleksandur and Miss Hermy-own-ninny. The Master and Miss Potter be finishing packing. Please come to the living room and wait."

"Thank you, Sasha," Aleksandur said, then took Hermione's hand and followed the house-elf to the living room to wait for Holly and Viktor.

It didn't take long for Viktor to come down with his bags. He greeted Alek, and Hermione then picked up Holly's luggage. Shrinking down their things, Viktor put it in his pocket then went into the living room to talk to the other couple, "Holly should be down in a little bit," Viktor explained.

At that moment, Holly comes bounding downstairs and hugs Hermione and Aleksandur. She goes and stands next to Viktor and loops her arm through his, "Are you excited, Hermione?"

"Oh, yes, Holly, I can't wait."

"Then let us get going," Aleksandur said and kissed Hermione's cheek.

"Da, let me shrink our luggage, and ve shall leave," Viktor said.

Viktor took out his wand and shrunk down the luggage; he then put it in his pocket. Holly and Viktor said goodbye to his parents and siblings, then went to the back yard and so that they could apparate to Sozopol. Viktor held on to Holly's hand, and Aleksandur did the same thing to Hermione, and they apparated to the hotel.

They apparated into the lobby of the Wizard's Hotel in Sozopol. Holly hung on to Viktor for a moment to steady herself. She heard a pop next to her where Alek and Hermione had arrived. Both girls looked around in awe at the hotel. Considering that it was a wizarding hotel, it was very modern; it almost looked like a Muggle hotel.

The two couples made their way over to the front desk, where they were greeted by a beautiful blonde witch whose eyes widen at the sight of Viktor. "Mr. Krum it is an honor to have you in our hotel, how can I assist you today?"

"Ve vould like to check-in, please."

"Of course, sir, under your name?"

"One of the rooms is the other is under Mr. Aleksandur Ivanoff," Aleksandur said.

The witch waved her wand and instantly found their rooms. She conjures their room keys and hands them to Viktor and Aleksandur. The men thank her and are about to walk away when the witch asked Viktor for his autograph. Viktor sighed but obliged her; after that, Viktor made sure that the witch saw him take Holly by the hand, and they made their way upstairs to the rooms.

The rooms that Viktor had reserved were right next to each other with an adjoining door. Viktor and Aleksandur followed the girls into their room then unshrunk their trunks, "Vhat do you girls vhat to do first," Viktor asked.

Holly and Hermione looked at each, "After we unpack, let's go down to the pool and swim," Holly suggested, Hermione nodded in agreement.

The men smiled and agreed, "Ve vill meet you by the pool." Aleksandur said.

With that, they left the girl's room and headed to their room next door. Once they left, the girls put away their thing and changed into their bikinis. They were modest bikinis that showed off some skin and their curves but not enough to be scandalous. After Holly and Hermione had changed, they grabbed their wraps, beach towels, put on their sandals, and headed down to the pool.

Viktor and Aleksandur were already down by the pool drinking butterbeers when they spotted the girls coming out of the hotel. Viktor smiled when he saw Holly went towards him. She looked so beautiful; her hair looked like fire in the sunlight. He could make out the fullness of her hips and the swell of her breasts. Holly walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Viktor leaned down and kissed Holly, "You look beautiful, Luff."

Holly blushed, "Thank you, love. I must admit I like seeing you, shirtless."

Viktor laughed, "Then I shall haff to be that vay more often."

Aleksandur greeted Hermione with a hug and a kiss then whispered something in her ear, causing Hermione to blush and giggle. They sat down on the chaise lounges so that Viktor and Alek could put the wizarding version of sunscreen of the girls' fair skin. After they were finished and the girls did the same thing to their boyfriend they jumped in the pool and started swimming. Hermione suggested that they play chicken, and Holly's eyes lit up.

"That's a great idea, Mione!"

Viktor and Alek looked at each other confused; they had never heard of that before. Hermione and Holly explained how to play the game, and the boys readily agreed. Viktor hoisted Holly onto his shoulders, and Alek did the same to Hermione. The boys moved towards each other, and Holly and Hermione tried to knock each other down. In the end, Viktor and Holly won.

After that, the two couples continued to swim and play in the pool. They ordered lunch and had it by the pool. They swam for a bit longer, then got out and headed back to the hotel to shower and change for dinner. And that's how it went the whole time the two couples were in Sozopol. They explored the city both the magical and the Muggle side of the town. Hung out on the Muggle beaches, went sailing, and enjoyed each other's company. Of course, the couples would break off on their own to enjoy some private time with their partner, but mostly the foursome stuck together.

At the end of the three days, Holly and Hermione were ready to go back to Sofia. They had a lot of fun, but it was time for a little peace. Also, Holly wanted to spend some quality time with only Viktor. So, they packed up and apparated back to Sofia. 


	23. Puppy Love

Meanwhile, at the Weasley house, Harry had been having a lot of fun with the Weasley twins and Neville but, he would occasionally have nightmares. On the days after his nightmares, all he wanted to do was be alone, but that didn't happen. As Harry was taking a walk down the lane leading away from the burrow, he heard a dreamy voice from above him.

"You shouldn't blame yourself for Cedric's death, Harry Potter."

Harry looked up and found Luna sitting in a tree with her eyes closed, and her face turned upwards. Harry thought it was strange that she knew it was him passing by. He put the thought out of his head and asked her, "Why shouldn't I, if it weren't for me insisting that Holly and I share the cup with Cedric, he wouldn't have ended up in the graveyard. If I had been quicker, Wormtail wouldn't have killed him."

"Harry, did you know that the cup was a portkey?"

"Well, um no, but it's still my fault."

"No, it isn't, you and Holly were only noble Gryffindors. Had you known that it was a portkey, you would never have let him touch it. And you didn't know what was going to happen when you landed. No one could have expected that man to kill Cedric, Harry. You can't blame yourself."

Even though Harry still did, his guilt had was now a little less with someone outside his family telling him that it wasn't his fault that Cedric was dead. Harry sighed and looked up at Luna, "What are you doing?"

"Enjoying the world, Harry."

Harry smiled and decided to join Luna in the tree. When he reached Luna, they sat there in silence swaying in the breeze listening to nature. Harry was so caught up in the beauty if everything that he almost didn't hear Mrs. Weasley calling him for lunch, "You better go, Harry, before Mrs. Weasley becomes cross with you."

"Right," Harry paused for a moment, "Luna, why don't you join us for lunch? I'm sure it won't be a problem."

Luna's eyes lit up, "I would love to, Harry."

They climbed down from the tree and made their way back to the Burrow. Upon entering the back door with Luna, the twins gave Harry a wink, and Harry glared at them but didn't say anything. Ginny hugged her best friend and escorted her into the dining room, where everyone sat down for lunch.

After lunch, the boys played Quidditch with Ron and Neville as the Keepers while Ginny and Luna talked, "So you like Harry," Ginny said.

"I've always liked Harry; he's a likable boy."

Ginny rolled her eyes, "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

Luna blushed, but didn't say anything; she just kept watching the boys play.

"Because he likes you too, you know," Ginny said, without looking at Luna.

Luna stared at Ginny, "He does?" Luna asked with a hopeful tone.

Ginny's head snapped towards Luna, "I knew it, you do like Harry. "

Luna blushed.

"Why haven't you done anything about it, Luna?" Ginny asked.

"Because I thought that you liked him, and I would rather have my best friend than a boy."

"I admit, I did like Harry, but when I went to the Yule Ball with Neville, I realized that what I felt towards Harry was more hero worship. What I feel for Neville is real; I truly care for Neville. So if you want to pursue Harry, you don't have to worry about me."

Luna stared at her friend wide-eyed then hugged her fiercely. She never thought that she would get a chance to be with Harry, but now there was some hope. Harry was on his broom circling the Pitch, searching for the Golden Snitch when he spotted Luna and Ginny talking under the tree. He watched Luna for a bit and thought that she looked so beautiful with the sun reflecting off her blonde hair.

Harry wondered what the girls were talking about when he saw Luna lung at Ginny and hug her, "Hey Harrikins, stop gawking at the girls and pay attention," Fred yelled at him.

Harry shook his head and went back to searching for the Snitch. The boys played for several hours until finally, Harry caught the Snitch. After that, they all went inside to have dinner. Molly insisted that Luna spend the night, much to the delight of both Ginny and Harry. Molly sent a Patronus to Luna's father, letting him know that Luna would be spending the night at the Burrow.

So the following morning, when everyone came down for breakfast, Ginny made sure that Luna and Harry sat next to each other so that they could get to know each other a bit more. When they sat down next to each other, Harry and Luna blushed when their hands' touched, reaching for a piece of toast.

"Oh, um, Sorry, Luna."

"It's alright, Harry," Luna said shyly.

Fred, George, Ginny, and Neville gave each other knowing looks, Ron was oblivious to what was going on, he was already stuffing his face with eggs and sausage. Harry and Luna served themselves breakfast and began to eat; they would glance at each other when they thought the other person wasn't looking at them. After breakfast, Ron and the others went upstairs to get ready for the day. Ron was going to go to Lavander's house while the others were going to go swimming at a nearby lake. The boys went and changed into swimming trunks, and Ginny lent a swimming suit to Luna. While they were getting ready, Mrs. Weasley packed a lunch for them.

Harry and the others walked down to the lake. When they got there, they placed the picnic basket in a secure place while the twins cast a stasis charm on it. They got undressed and dove into the lake. They splashed around and raced to the center of the lake. Overall they had a grand time. In the afternoon, the teens got out of the lake and had lunch. While they were having lunch, they discussed what they thought the following year would be like.

"It's going to be brutal. I hear the OWL test is hard." Neville said.

"It is, Mate," George answered.

"But don't worry, it's only going to determine what career you choose in the future," Fred chided.

Neville swallowed thickly.

"Don't listen to them, Nev, you're going to do fine," Ginny said to her boyfriend and kissed him on the cheek.

They continued to talk for the rest of the afternoon about what jobs they thought they might like to do. Everyone was surprised when Harry said that he might want to be a healer instead of an Auror, "I'm not surprised, Harry. You've been through a lot as it is. Why would you go looking for more violence in your life," Luna said.

"Exactly," Harry answered.

"And Holly? What does she want to do?"

"What do you mean what does she want to do," Fred asked.

"She wants to get married and raise her own Quidditch team with Krum," George said with a laugh.

Everyone else laughed, "No, really, what does Holly want to do?" Ginny asked.

"She wants to be a healer too," Harry answered.

As the sun was going down, the teens packed up and headed back to the Weasley house, where Molly was already making dinner. They greet Arthur, who had arrived an hour ago and were told that Bill was coming over for Sunday dinner and that he was bringing Fleur as well. The teens went upstairs to shower and change; then, they headed back down for dinner. By the time Harry made his way downstairs for dinner, everyone was already seated. Ginny made sure that the only seat available was next to Luna.

Once Harry arrived, Molly served dinner. The Weasleys, Harry, and Luna served themselves and began eating. As they ate, the men started talking about Quidditch and how well the teams were going to do this year. At the same time, Fleur talked to Ginny and Luna. The whole time that they were talking, Fleur and Bill held hands. Ginny smiled at seeing her oldest brother so happy. She and Neville looked at each other, and Neville leaned over and kissed Ginny on the cheek.

Harry looked on and smiled. He wished that he could do that to Luna. During the summer, he and Luna had been writing letters to each other, and now that he was at the Weasley house and was getting a chance to spend time with her, Harry realized that he was developing feelings for the petite blonde sitting next to him.

Harry glanced at Luna, their eyes met, and Harry felt his heart skip a beat. He smiled at Luna, and she blushed prettily. Harry turned back to his food and began eating again. He suddenly had a bold idea; slowly, Harry held Luna's hand underneath the table. Luna looked at Harry and blushed. She squeezed his hand, and he smiled at her. They continued to hold hands underneath the table.

After dinner, Harry and Luna helped Molly clean up. When they were finally alone in the kitchen, Harry took Luna's hand, "Are you going home tonight?"

"I think I better. I need to help my father with his next edition of the Quibbler," Luna said.

"Would you mind if I walk you home?"

Luna smiled at Harry, "I'd like that, Harry."

Harry and Luna left then the kitchen and went into the living room so that Luna could say goodbye to everyone, "I'll see you all tomorrow, I have to get home and help my father," Luna said.

"I'm going to walk Luna home, guys, I'll be back in a little bit."

"Do you want me to come with you, Harry," Ron asked with a hopeful look on his face.

"NO!" Gred and Forge said at the same time.

"Harry can go by himself," Ginny added.

"Oh, okay," Ron said.

Harry gave Ginny a grateful smile, then he and Luna left. They walked down the lane, talking and holding hands. As they got closer to Luna's house, their pace began to slow, neither one of them wanted the evening to end. Harry stopped in front of the tree where he had seen Luna earlier, "Is there something wrong, Harry?"

"No, Luna, I only wanted to tell you how much I like you."

"I like you too, Harry."

"No, Luna, I like you more than just a friend."

Luna blushed, "So do I, Harry."

Harry's mouth fell open, "You do?"

"Yes, but I thought you liked Ginny, so I didn't want to say anything."

"No, Ginny is like a little sister to me. I've always liked you too, Luna," Harry assured Luna.

Harry started rubbing the back of his neck and looking at the ground. He suddenly looked up, his emerald eyes making contact with Luna's blue, "Um, Luna, would you be my girlfriend?"

Luna smiled brightly at Harry, "I would love to be your girlfriend, Harry."

Harry smiled and hugged Luna. When they pulled apart, Harry cupped Luna's face and leaned in to kiss her. They stood there kissing when suddenly the air grew colder, and the field of flowers around them started to freeze. Harry stiffened when he felt the cold. He looked up and pulled out his wand, "Luna, run, get to your house and shut the door."

"What's going on, Harry?"

"Luna! It's the dementors! GO NOW HURRY!"

Luna didn't waste any time; she took off at a sprint towards her house without looking back. Two dementors descended on Harry and instantly attacked him, but Harry was ready for them. He had his wand out and quickly shouted, "Expecto Patronum!"

Instantly, Prongs lept from his wand and charged the dementors. The dementors screeched at being confronted by Harry's Patronus and were knocked over and sent fleeing into the night. Prongs cantered back to Harry and stood in front of him, "Thanks, Prongs."

The stag nodded then faded away. Suddenly, Harry heard a series of pops of people apparating around him, looking around, Harry noticed that Bill, Fleur, and the Weasleys had arrived, "Harry, we saw your Patronus from the house, what happened?"

"I was attacked by two dementors."

"And Luna?" Fleur asked.

"I told her to run to her house and shut the door."

At that moment, Harry was nearly tackled as Luna crashed into him, hugging Harry fiercely, "Harry, are you alright."

"Yeah, Luna, I'm okay, you?"

"I'm fine, Harry."

"Good."

Arthur put his arm around Harry's shoulder, "Come on, Harry, let's get you home, Bill and Fleur will take Luna home."

Harry nodded, but before he walked away, he kissed Luna on the lips, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Luna blushed, "Okay, Harry."

The twins grinned at each other after Luna walked away with Bill and Fleur.

They arrived at the Weasley house and explained to Molly what happened, and she got a cup of tea ready for Harry. But as she was making the tea, a letter flew in through the window. Suddenly the letter began to speak.

Dear Mr. Potter.

The Ministry has received intelligence that at 8:23 this evening, you performed the Patronus Charm. As a clear violation of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. You are hereby expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Hoping you are well,

Mafalda Hopkirk.

Harry stood there and watched the letter tear itself apart. He couldn't believe he had just been expelled. Arthur put a hand on Harry's arm, "Don't worry, Harry, we'll sort this all out."

Harry numbly nodded; he had to send a letter to his parents and Holly.  



	24. Protective Sister

Harry immediately sent a message with Hedwig to his parents, explaining what had happened. To say that Sirius and Remus were livid was an understatement. They quickly got in contact with Ted Tonks, who was their solicitor, so that he could represent Harry at a trial to get him reinstated at Hogwarts. Dumbledore was also informed of Harry's situation to see if Dumbledore could do anything since Dumbledore was the Supreme Mugwump. Remus sent a letter back to Harry telling him not to worry about anything that he and Sirius would handle everything.

Meanwhile, in Bulgaria, Viktor was lying on a blanket in a clearing in the forest with her head pillowed on Holly's lap. They had hiked through the woods to have a picnic and to admire the view of the city. Before they had their lunch, Viktor had finally shown Holly his animagus form, his snow leopard. When Viktor transformed, he stalked towards Holly and chased her around the forest, growling playfully. Viktor had given Holly a head start, giving her plenty of time to hide in the woods. It didn't take long for him to find her and pounce on her.

Holly laughed hysterically as Viktor loomed over her, licking her face with his rough tongue, "Ew, Viktor, stop it," Holly said between fits of giggles, "That's gross!" She said as she wiped her face.

Viktor transformed back and laid down next to Holly in the soft grass peppering her face with kisses. He eventually made his way towards her lips and kissed her lovingly. Holly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Viktor pulled away and sighed, "I luff you so much, Holly."

"I love you too, Viktor, so, so much."

Viktor smiled at Holly and kissed her again. Then he helped her up, and they went back to the clearing to have their lunch. They sat down on the blanket that Viktor had brought, and Holly began to unpack their lunch. She had asked Viktor's mother if she could teach Holly how to make Viktor's favorite dishes for their picnic. Holly had gotten up early that morning so that she could get a head start on making everything that she and Viktor would need for their picnic.

She took the food and plates out of the basket and set it all out on the blanket. Anna had put a stasis charm on the food for Holly so that it would stay nice and warm until it was served. Viktor watched curiously as Holly began to fill his plate, "Did you make this, Holly," Viktor inquired.

"Yes, I asked your mother to show me how to make all of your favorite foods. I hope you like it."

Viktor leaned towards Holly and kissed her, "I am sure the food vill be delicious, thank you, Luff."

Holly blushed, "You're welcome, love."

When Holly finished serving Viktor and herself and giving him a butterbeer, she sat there and wait for him to try her food. Viktor smiled at his girlfriend and took a bite of the food; he hummed in appreciation of the food. It was even better than when his mother made it, "Holly, this is delicious!"

"Really?"

"Da, I luff it! You are an excellent cook."

Holly let out a sigh of relief, "I'm so glad you like it, Viktor."

Holly and Viktor started eating their lunch and chatting about the upcoming school year for Holly. Holly told Viktor that more than likely something was going to happen with the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, "Vhy do you say that, Luff?"

"Because something always happens with the DADA teacher since Harry and I started school. The only time we didn't have problems was when Moony taught it. And even then, Moony ended up being a werewolf."

"Maybe this year, vill be different."

"Maybe, doubtful, but there's a possibility," Holly sighed and put her head on Viktor's shoulder, "I don't want to go back. I don't want to leave you."

"I do not want you to leave either, Luff, but that is the way it is. I promise that I vill visit you as often as I can."

"You promise?"

"I promise, but let us not talk about such things. Ve still have two more veeks. My Quidditch practice starts soon, but I vould like you to be there vith me."

"Of course," Holly said with a smile.

Viktor kissed Holly and then waved his wand to repack everything back in the basket then vanished the basket. Viktor sighed and stretched; he conjured a few pillows for Holly to lean against, then placed his head on her lap. Holly smiled at her boyfriend and leaned down to kiss him; they continued to talk while Holly ran her fingers through Viktor's hair, massaging his scalp. His black hair had grown throughout the year, and Holly loved running her fingers through his thick hair.

Viktor's eyes slowly started to close, and soon, he had fallen asleep. Holly smiled and watched him sleep. Holly stared at Viktor's face committing it to memory. Holly's heart swelled when she heard Viktor mumble her name in his sleep. She didn't think it was possible to love someone as much as she loved Viktor, and Holly hoped and prayed that this feeling would never go away.

A half-hour later, Viktor's eyes fluttered open, and he smiled up at Holly, "I had a vonderful dream. I dreamt that I vos lying in the arms of a beautiful angel, and it turns out that it vos true, except my head was on my angel's lap instead."

"Oh, Viktor, you're so sweet."

"It is true; you are my angel, Holly," Viktor said then sat up so that he could kiss Holly.

As their kissing became more heated, Viktor pulled away and placed his forehead against Holly's, "I think it is time for us to go back home."

Holly groaned, "If you say so."

Viktor stood up and helped Holly to her feet; with a wave of his wand, he vanished the blanket then took Holly's hand. They apparated back to Viktor's house, where Holly was surprised to find Hedwig waiting for her, "Hedwig, what are you doing here?"

Hedwig hooted and flew over to Holly and nipped her ear affectionately. The snowy owl held her leg out so that she could take the letter that she had for Holly. Holly took the note, and Hedwig flew off to join Viktor's owl, and they began to groom each other.

Holly read the note from Harry and started getting upset. Viktor watched his girlfriend's face turn red with anger, her green eyes flashing, "Luff, vhat is the matter?"

Holly was so angry she couldn't speak; she handed the letter to Viktor. Viktor read the note, "No, they cannot do this to Harry; it is unfair. He vos only defending himself and the other girl!" Viktor exclaimed.

"I can't believe this is happening; Harry can't be expelled!" Holly said as tears began to gather in her eyes, "I need to go home and be with my brother."

"Off course, Luff, I shall take you home, but vhat does the other letter say?"

Holly was so upset she had forgotten about the other letter that Remus and Sirius had sent her. She ripped it open and read the message. As she read it, Holly sighed in relief, "Remus said that they got Harry a trial and that Ted Tonks was going to represent him in court so that they can fight his expulsion from Hogwarts. Remus said for me to stay here with you. That my going won't solve anything."

"It does not matter, Holly, if it does not solve anything. I am sure your brother vould like you there vith him. Ve can finish our Holiday there in England," Viktor said with a smile, "You can show me around since I have only seen Hogvarts."

"You don't mind, Viktor?"

"Off course not, As long as I get to spend time vith you. Ve only haff a veek left anyvay."

"What about Quidditch?"

"I took the veek off to spend it vith you, so that is not a problem."

Holly smiled at her boyfriend and jumped into his arms and kissed him, "Oh, Viktor, thank you so much!"

"You are velcome, Holly. I vould do anything for you. Now let us tell my parents and pack. I vill get us a portkey back to England."

Holly kissed Viktor once more then rushed upstairs to pack. Meanwhile, Viktor went to tell his parents what was going on. They agreed with him that Holly should be with her brother and thought that it was a good idea Viktor to go with her. While Viktor packed his things, Marco made a portkey to take the young couple back to England. Once they were ready, Viktor shrank Holly's luggage and put it in his pocket.

Holly and Viktor came downstairs, where Viktor's family was waiting for him. Holly apologized to his parents and siblings for cutting her trip short, "That is alright, Holly, ve know how much your brother means to you and ve vouldn't expect you to stay here while he is in trouble. Ve understand."

"Thank you for everything. I hope to see you all soon. Maybe I can return for the Christmas Holiday?"

"That vould be vonderful, Holly, ve would luff to haff you," Anna said as she hugged Holly.

Holly then hugged Viktor's father and siblings, then Marco gave Viktor the portkey. Viktor and Holly went outside, and Viktor took a firm grip around Holly's waist, and they touched the portkey and were whisked away to England. When Holly and Viktor arrived at the Ministry, they floo'd to the Weasley house where Harry was staying.

Harry and the others were sitting in the kitchen when the fireplace roared to life. Harry was expecting to see his parents come through the fire but was surprised to see Holly step out, "Holly! What are you doing here?"

"Did you honestly think I could stay when you're in trouble?"

"Oh, Holly, I didn't mean for you to cut your holiday short," Harry said sadly.

"I didn't," Holly said with a smile, "Viktor came with me."

At that moment, the fire roared again, and Viktor stepped out, "Hello, Harry," Viktor said with a smile.

"Viktor, I'm glad you could come," Harry said as he shook his hand.

"Vell, Holly, and I haff one more veek, and I did not vant her to come here alone."

Ginny, who was standing with her family, thought that was the cutest thing she had ever heard. She stepped forward and greeted Holly and Viktor as did the other Weasleys along with Luna, who had been spending all her time with Harry. Holly asked her brother what was going on, and he told her that he had a hearing the following day but that Harry wasn't worried because Ted said that he was going to bring a Pensieve to show them his and Luna's memory of the event and that that should clear him.

A little while later, Hermione showed up complaining that what they were doing to, Harry was unfair. She stopped short when she saw Holly and Viktor sitting in the living room with everyone else, "Holly, Viktor, when did you get here?"

"A little while ago. You didn't think I would stay in Bulgaria when Harry's in trouble, did you?"

"No, of course not, but what about your holiday?"

Holly took Viktor's hand, "I brought him with me," Holly said with a laugh.

"Hello, Hermy-own-ninny. It is good to see you again."

"Hello, Viktor. I'm glad you came with Holly."

"So am I."

They sat around and talked for a while until it was time for Harry, Holly, and Viktor to go back to the Potter Mansion so that Harry could speak to Ted Tonks about his defense. They took the floo back to the house where Remus and Sirius were waiting for Harry. Their parents were surprised to see Holly and Viktor step out of the fireplace as well.

"Oh, Bambi, we told you not to come home, that we had everything under control," Sirius told his daughter as he hugged her.

"I know, Siri, but did you honestly think I could stay away with Harry in trouble?"

"No, I guess not," Remus said, "Hello, Cub," He said then hugged his daughter.

"Viktor, it's good to see you," Remus said to the young man standing behind Holly.

"It is good to see you as vell, Remus, I hope you do not mind that I came along vith Holly."

"No, of course not, you two can spend the rest of your holiday here if you like," Remus suggested.

"That's what we thought too, Remi, I'm glad it's okay with you," Holly said.

"No, it's fine with us, Bambi, as long as you have fun," Sirius added, "Now, Ted will be here shortly so we can discuss what we're going to do tomorrow. Oh, and Bambi, you need to stay here; only Ted and Harry are going to go since he's his solicitor." Sirius informed Holly.

Holly nodded, "Okay, Siri," She then turned to Harry, "But you come straight home and tell me what happened so I don't worry, okay?"

Harry smiled at his twin, "Okay, Hol."

After that was settled, Viktor took their luggage out of his pocket and resized it. The house-elves took their bags to Holly's room and the guest bedroom down the hall from Holly. Once Holly and Viktor unpacked, they went downstairs to have a snack, then Holly was going to show Viktor the grounds while Harry, Remus, and Sirius talked to Ted.

They walked through the garden and admired all the flowers in bloom. It was a little chilly in England, but the property was surrounded by wards that kept the land at the appropriate temperature so that it felt like a proper summer. After wandering the garden for a while, Holly and Viktor ventured back inside to hear the tail end of the conversation with Ted Tonks.

"You have nothing to worry about, Harry. You're not going to be expelled from Hogwarts. I'm going to do my damnest to make sure that doesn't happen," Ted said.

"Thank you, Mr. Tonks," Harry said. After that, Ted said his goodbyes and floo'd back to his house to prepare for the following day. Once he was gone, Remus had Bobsey serve dinner.

The following day, Harry got up and dressed in his best suit and tie and made his way downstairs to wait for Luna and Ted. Luna arrived first and kissed Harry. Holly and Viktor looked at each other and then at Luna and Harry, "What's this? What happened between you two?"

Harry and Luna blushed, "Luna's my girlfriend now, Holly. I asked her the night the Dementors attacked."

Holly squealed and hugged her brother and Luna, then she smacked Harry, "And you couldn't have put that in the letter?"

"Oh, well, I wanted to tell you in person," Harry said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm so happy for you, Harry, you too, Luna."

"Thank you," They both said, still blushing.

"Congratulations, Harry, Luna," Viktor said, then shook Harry's hand.

A little while later, Ted arrived, and Luna, Harry, and Ted headed out to the Ministry, "I want details about you two going out," Holly shouted before they disappeared in the flames. The last thing that Holly saw was Harry's face turn bright red. She and Viktor laughed then headed to the kitchen for breakfast.

After breakfast, Holly showed Viktor around the house and the rest of the grounds. She wasn't in the mood to do anything else until Harry got home; Holly couldn't concentrate on anything other than her brother's hearing. So Viktor led Holly into the den where they played Wizard's Chess until Harry came home with Luna and Ted.

When the fireplace roared to life, and Harry stepped through, followed by Luna and Ted. Holly and the others were instantly on their feet, "Well, what happened," Sirius asked.

Harry smiled, "I was cleared; I'm not expelled."

Holly squealed and hugged her brother. Harry returned the hug and held onto his sister tightly. Holly then let go of her brother so that Viktor could congratulate him while she hugged Luna and thanked her for helping her brother. While Holly did that, Remus and Sirius thanked Ted for all of his help, "Thank you, Ted, for all of your help," Remus said.

"No thanks, needed, it's my job," Ted said with a smile as he shook Remus and Sirius' hand. And with that, Ted said his goodbyes and went home.

The minute Ted had left, Holly turned and looked at Harry and Luna, who were holding hands. She had a mischievous look on her face, "Okay, love birds, tell me everything."

Harry and Luna looked at each other and blushed. 


	25. A New Year Begins

Harry and Luna blushed as they related to Holly and Viktor, everything that led up to Harry asking Luna to be his girlfriend. Holly stared at her brother and Luna for a moment, then she squealed and hugged Harry, "I knew you and Luna would get together! You two make a great couple. Congratulations, I'm so happy for you."

Harry took Luna's hand, "Thank you, Holly, Luna, and I are happy too."

Viktor came over and shook Harry's hand while Holly hugged Luna. "Congratulations, Harry, I am happy for you as vell. As your sister said, you two make a luffly couple."

"Thank you, Viktor."

"You are velcome."

"So, what do you guys want to do now?" Harry asked.

"Well, since your letters have already arrived from Hogwarts. Why don't you do your shopping? Then you can take Viktor into Muggle London and show him around," Hermione suggested.

"That's a great idea, Mione," Holly said.

"I'll go get our letter," Harry said as he ran upstairs to get their letters.

In the meantime, Holly had one of the house-elves take Viktor's luggage up to the room next to hers. It was decided that Hermione and Luna would stay with Holly and Harry, and they would all go to the station together. When Harry came back down, he gave Holly her letter.

Uniform:  
The quantity given is the suggested minimum requirements.

1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)  
2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear 3. One winter cloak (black with silver fastenings)  
4\. Three white shirts for boys or blouses for girls 5. Two grey sweaters, vests, or cardigans 6. Two charmable ties in house colours 7. One charmable winter scarf in house colours 8. Two pairs of trousers or shorts for boys, or skirts for girls 9. Three pairs of white knee socks or black wool stockings for girls, or grey knee socks or black ankle socks for boys.  
10\. One set of dress robes (any colour, conservative style)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

Required Textbooks Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles by Wilhelm Wigworthy The Monster Book of Monsters Creature Comforts: A Guide to Magical Creature Environments by Winnie Rider The Standard Book of Spells Grade 5 by Miranda Goshawk The Complete Constellation Dictionary 3rd Edition Futhark Magic: A Study of Ancient Runes Spellman's Syllabary Curses and Counter-Curses by Vindictus Viridian Modern Magical History The Dream Oracle Achievements in Charming Poisonous Plants and the Art of Medicine by O. Ollesteria Numbers and the Meaning of Life: Advanced Arithmancy by Perseus Pythagoras Nancy Nova Brings you the Planets One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Other Equipment:  
1 wand 2 cauldrons (pewter, standard size 2, copper standard size 4)  
1 set crystal vials 1 telescope One hardened brass or silver scales One advanced potions ingredients kit 1 set of protective gloves Quills Inks Parchment Blank Journal Muggle Pencil or Pen if taking Muggle Studies One abacus Lunarscope Crystal Ball Rune Set Wand Holster

Students may also bring two familiars or pets, with one of them being an owl. Approved familiars are:

Toad Cat Rat Pygmy Puff Owl

Others may be approved on a case by case basis. You will need to get permission from the school RPG admin (Zoe) before bringing any other pets to school.

Holly read over the list and nodded. She, Hermione, and the others weren't going to bother with the pens and pencils since they weren't going to take Muggle Studies. It was a ridiculous class that was outdated anyway. They all needed to get new clothes since they had all grown over the summer, especially Harry. So they needed to stop by Madam Malkin's. And they needed to stop by the Quidditch shop to buy Holly equipment to try out for the team.

"Okay, you guys, let's go," Hermione said.

Hermione grabbed some floo powder and went to the fireplace and stepped in, "The Leaky Cauldron," She said and threw the powder down. She was engulfed in a green flame and disappeared.

Luna went next, then Viktor, Holly, and finally, Harry. When they arrived, they made their way to the back courtyard, and Harry pulled his wand out and tapped the bricks. The bricks moved aside, and they entered Diagon Alley. When they entered the Alley, Holly realized how antiquated their Wizarding District must look to Viktor compared to Bulgaria; it was almost embarrassing. But Viktor didn't say anything. He didn't want to make Holly uncomfortable.

Their first stop was Gringotts to get some money to do their shopping. Once everyone had gotten money out of their vaults and Hermione had exchanged her pounds to galleons, they went to Madam Malkin's first. It took a while for the ladies to measure and fit Holly, Harry, Hermione, and Luna since the shop was so busy. So once Madam Malkin fitted them for their robes, she told them to come back in an hour to pick up their robes.

Their next stop was the apothecary to restock their supplies for potions class. They decided to save Flourish and Blotts for last, or they would lose Hermione and Holly in the shop for hours. Next, they went to Potage's Cauldron Shop to buy the cauldrons they would need for potions class. Hermione and Holly were required to go to Magical Menagerie to pick up some supplies for Crookshanks and Archimedes, and while they were there, Luna decided to get a Pygmy Puff as a pet.

While the girls did that, Viktor and Harry went to Quality Quidditch Supplies. Viktor decided that he would buy all the equipment that Holly would need when she made the Quidditch team. Viktor was positive that Holly was going to make the team with no problem. The only thing Viktor and Harry were not expecting was for Viktor to get recognized and be bombarded for autographs. It took nearly an hour for Viktor to escape the Quidditch shop and get back to Holly and the others.

Viktor sighed when he finally got out of the Quidditch shop. Harry was waiting for him outside and starting laughing at him the minute he saw him, "At least they only stare at me, Mate," Harry said.

"Shut up, Harry. I vos hoping no one vould recognize me. Let's go find the girls."

"Wait, we need to go to Scribbulus Writing Implements to get some quills, ink, and parchment, then we'll go look for the girls."

Viktor nodded and then went into the shop to get everything Harry and the others would need for the term. Once they had enough, Harry paid, and Viktor and Harry went to Madam Malkin's to look for the girls. Sure enough, the girls were there picking up the clothes they had ordered earlier. Viktor smiled when he saw Holly. He hugged and kissed her on the lips. After Viktor shrank their packages and the girls put them in their purses, they moved on to Flourish and Blotts.

This time the group only spent two hours in the bookstore as Holly, Hermione, and Luna browsed for new books. Viktor followed Holly as she handed him book after book. He smiled at her as he saw how happy she was collecting new books to read. He looked over at Harry, and he was doing the same for Luna. Hermione would leave her books on the counter. Unfortunately for Hermione, Alek had started already started his job at the Bulgarian Ministry; if he hadn't, he would have seen Hermione off to school

The group finally left Flourish and Blotts after the girls got all the books they wanted. Viktor once again shrank down the packages, and they headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. After that, they walked out of the Leaky Cauldron into Muggle London, "Alright, Hermione, you're the tour guide." Holly said to her best friend

Hermione nodded, "Okay, I think the first place we should go get something to eat, then from there, decide what we want to do," Hermione said.

They agreed and headed into the Leaky Cauldron to have lunch. As the group waited for their lunch, Hermione started telling the group about everything they could do in Muggle London. Everyone agreed that wherever Hermione wanted to show them was okay with the others. So, after lunch, Hermione started her tour of London. She took them to all the typical sights. Hermione took them to the British Museum, Tower of London, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, Hyde Park, Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and finally that evening to the London Eye. Holly, Viktor, Harry, and Luna enjoyed the beautiful sight of London at night. Viktor hugged Holly and kissed her head as they looked over the city.

After that, they took in a show then headed back to the Leaky Cauldron to floo back to Potter Manor. When they arrived, Hermione, Luna, and Harry went upstairs to bed, while Viktor and Holly sat in the living room by the fire in each other's arm, watching the fire and talking.

"I vill miss you, my luff vhen you go to school," Viktor told Holly.

"So will I, Love, but I promise that I will write to you as often as I can."

"And I shall do the same," Viktor said as he kissed Holly's temple.

Holly kissed Viktor's chin; then, they lapsed into a comfortable silence and sat in front of the fire. Eventually, the couple fell asleep in each other's arms by the fireplace. When Remus came down for some cocoa, he smiled at seeing the young couple together; but he decided to wake them and send them to their rooms before Sirius came down and had a fit.

Remus shook Viktor and Holly awake, "Come on, you two, it's time for you to go to bed. It's late, and we don't want Padfoot to catch you like this."

Holly yawned and sat up, "Okay, Moony."

With that, the couple got up and made their way upstairs and went to their rooms, but not before kissing goodnight.

The remainder of the week went by as perfect as it had in Bulgaria. Holly and Viktor spent every waking moment together. The couple would take long walks through the gardens and play with Archimedes. They would also go swimming and play Quidditch with Weasleys and Neville when they showed up to spend the rest of the summer with the Potters. It gave Holly a chance to continue to practice her skills as a chaser, and Harry gave Viktor some competition as a seeker.

The night before everyone was supposed to go back to school, Hermione got an unexpected visitor. They had just sat down for dinner when the fireplace roared to life. Holly and Harry looked at each other, wondering who could be arriving. Holly looked at her boyfriend, who had a smirk on his face, and glanced at Hermione. Instantly, Holly understood what Viktor meant.

"I wonder who could it be, Hermione, why don't you come with me to see who arrived," Holly said to her best friend.

Hermione gave Holly a strange look but stood up. They walked into the living room and saw a tall man with his back to them. When he turned around, Hermione squealed and jumped into Aleksandur's arms and kissed him, "Alek, what are you doing here?"

Aleksandur laughed, "Did you honestly think I vouldn't see you off to school, Malka Zvezda (Little Star.)?"

"I thought you were too busy at the ministry."

"For you, Mione, I vill alvays make time," Aleksandur told Hermione, then kissed again.

Hermione started tearing up and hugged her boyfriend tightly, "Thank you."

"My pleasure."

When they broke apart, Holly stepped forward, "Hello, Alek, I'm glad you made it."

Hermione glared at her best friend, "You knew Alek was coming?"

"No, but Viktor did. It was supposed to be a surprise," Holly explained.

Hermione huffed at her best friend, then took Aleksandur's arm, "Have you eaten? We were about to have dinner."

"No, I haven't."

"Then come on, let's have dinner."

They walked into the dining room, and everyone greeted Aleksandur with enthusiasm, "It's good to see you again, mate. Maybe now Hermione will stop moping," George said.

"I was not moping!"

"Yes, you were, Mione," Fred said, then yelped when Ginny pinched him, causing everyone to laugh.

Remus stood up and shook Alek's hand, "I'm glad you didn't have any problems getting here, Alek."

"You knew, Moony?!"

"Of course, I did, Hermione. Surprise," Remus said with a smile.

Hermione let go of Aleksandur and hugged Remus, "Thank you, Moony."

Remus kissed Hermione's head, "You're welcome, Love."

After that, they all sat down and had a lovely dinner. Once dinner was over, Hermione and Aleksandur went to the library so that they could catch up and he could tell her how things were going at the Bulgarian Ministry. They spent the entire night talking and cuddling. After that, Hermione and Aleksandur spent the whole weekend together.

When September first rolled around, there was a mad scramble in the manor with everyone packing their trunks and putting their familiars in their carriers. Once they were ready, Mad-Eye Moody and a few other members of the Order came over to escort the children to Kings Cross Station. Now that Voldemort was back, Moody wanted a protection detail on the Potter twins at all times, but Remus and Sirius told him that they were safe inside the wards of the manor. So they compromised and had them followed without their knowledge whenever they left the property.

Now that everyone was ready, a member of the Order would apparate the teens to platform 9 3/4, though Remus and Sirius were taking Harry and Luna. Moody went first to make sure it was clear; then the others went after him. Viktor and Alek took Holly and Hermione to the platform; they didn't trust anyone else to take their girlfriends.

When everyone arrived, Moody and Tonks searched the train. They found a compartment for all teens to sit together. Once they left the trunks in the compartment, Moody and Tonks got off the train to inform them. Ginny, Neville, and the twins said goodbye to Remus and Sirius, then followed Tonks onto the train so that she could show them to their seats. Next, Harry hugged his parents, "You be careful, pup," Sirius said, "And take care of your sister."

"I will, Padfoot," Harry said. He then hugged Remus.

"Have a good term, cub, be good and try not to get into any trouble this year," Remus said and kissed Harry on the cheek.

"I'll try not to, Moony, but you know the kind of luck that Holly and I have."

"I know, so you two need to be extra careful this year, especially with everything that's going on."

"Okay, Moony."

"I love you, cub."

"I love you too, Moony."

With one final hug to his parents, Harry and Luna boarded the train. While Harry was saying his goodbyes, Holly was holding onto Viktor, waiting for her turn. As soon as Harry let go of Sirius, she stepped forward to hug her father. Sirius smiled at Holly and hugged her fiercely, "Bye Siri. I promise I'll write as often as I can."

"You better, Bambi. I know that this year is going to be harder because of your OWL examins, but please try to have a little fun."

"I'll try, Siri."

"That's a good girl. You be careful and watch over your brother."

"Don't worry, we'll look after each other," Holly said, then kissed Sirius's cheek.

She then moved towards Moony, "Goodbye, baby. Study hard and be careful."

"I will, Moony. You don't have to worry about us."

"I'm your father, of course, I'm going to worry about you."

"I love you, Dad," Holly said, tearing up.

"I love you too, baby."

After Holly let go of Remus, she moved back to Viktor while Hermione said goodbye to Sirius and Remus. Holly wrapped her arms around Viktor's waist and leaned her head against his chest; Viktor kissed the top of Holly's head, "I'm going to miss you so much, Viktor," Holly said and sniffled.

"And I shall miss you also, Luff. But I vill write to you as often as I can, and I vill see you during your holiday."

Holly looked up at Viktor, "You're going to spend Christmas with me?"

"Off course. There is no other place I vould rather be," Viktor said with a smile.

Holly beamed up at him, and Viktor leaned down and kissed her. They stayed there, holding each other until the whistle blew, and Holly had to get on the train. Viktor kissed Holly one last time, "I luff you, Holly."

"I love you too, Viktor."

They reluctantly let go of each other, and Holly started walking towards the train with Hermione, who had also reluctantly let go of Aleksandur. He, too, had promised to come to see her during her Christmas Holiday and that he would write her as often as he could. The girls looked at their boyfriends one last time then boarded the train. Viktor and Aleksandur looked at each other and sighed. They waited until the train was out of sight, then they apparated back to Bulgaria. Viktor had to meet up with his team, and Aleksandur had to work the following day.

On the train, Holly and Hermione found the others and sat down with them, not bothering to say anything. Archimedes and Crookshanks jumped onto their mistress's laps to comfort them. After a while, Harry and the others started talking about Quidditch to get Holly to start talking while Ginny and Luna engaged Hermione in a conversation.

Soon the girls started talking and laughing with the others. They began to speculate how the year would go with their OWLS exams and who could be their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Before they knew it, the train had arrived at Hogwarts. The group disembarked and headed for the carriages. When they got there, Holly and Harry gasped.

"What is that," The twins ask in unison.

"What is what," Hermione asked.

"That thing that's pulling the carriage," Harry said.

"Nothing's pulling the carriage, Harry. It's pulling itself, like always."

Holly and Harry look at each other. Are they going mad?

Luna took Harry's hand, "You're not going mad; I can see them too."

Hermione, Ginny, and Neville looked at each other, "What do you guys see?"

Luna looked at Hermione, "They're called Thestrals. You can only see them if you've seen someone die," She explained.

Hermione gasped; she suddenly realized why the twins could see them because they had witnessed Cedric's murder last year, "Are, are they dangerous," Ginny asked, coming to the same conclusion as Hermione.

"No, they're gentle creatures; we don't have anything to worry about."

"Good. Well, I guess we should be going then," Neville said, then helped Luna, Holly, and Harry into the carriage. Once they sat down, the carriage took off towards the castle.

They arrived just in time for the sorting ceremony. Holly and the others took their seats and listened to the sorting. Once the sorting was done, the feast began. As soon as everyone had finished their desserts, Dumbledore stood up to make a few announcements, "Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices," said Dumbledore. "First-years ought to know that the Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students-and a few of our older students ought to know by now, too."

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four-hundred-and-sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are several other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door."

"We have had two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was a round of polite but fairly unenthusiastic applause, during which Harry, Holly, and Hermione exchanged slightly panicked looks; Dumbledore had not said for how long Grubbly-Plank would be teaching.

Dumbledore continued, "Tryouts for the house Quidditch teams will take place on the-"

He broke off, looking enquiringly at Professor Umbridge. As she was not much taller standing than sitting, there was a moment when nobody understood why Dumbledore had stopped talking, but then Professor Umbridge cleared her throat, 'Hem, hem,' and it became clear that she had got to her feet and was intending to make a speech.

Dumbledore only looked taken aback for a moment, then he sat down smartly and looked alertly at Professor Umbridge as though he desired nothing better than to listen to her talk. Other members of staff were not as adept at hiding their surprise. Professor Sprout's eyebrows had disappeared into her flyaway hair, and Professor McGonagall's mouth was as thin as Harry had ever seen it. No new teacher had ever interrupted Dumbledore before. Many of the students were smirking; this woman obviously did not know how things were done at Hogwarts.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Professor Umbridge simpered, "for those kind words of welcome."

Her voice was high-pitched, breathy and little-girlish and, again, Harry felt a powerful rush of dislike that he could not explain to himself; all he knew was that he loathed everything about her, from her stupid voice to her fluffy pink cardigan. She gave another little throat-clearing cough ('hem, hem') and continued.

"Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" She smiled, revealing very pointed teeth. "And to see such happy little faces looking up at me!"

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."

"Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for, without progress, there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation . . ."

". . . because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited."

She sat down. Dumbledore clapped. The staff followed his lead, though Harry and Holly noticed that several of them brought their hands together only once or twice before stopping. A few students joined in, but most had been taken unawares by the end of the speech, not having listened to more than a few words of it, and before they could start applauding properly, Dumbledore had stood up again.

"Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating," he said, bowing to her. "Now, as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held . . . "

Holly and Harry ignored the rest of what Dumbledore was saying, Holly suddenly realized what Professor Umbridge was trying to say. The Ministry was interfering at Hogwarts. She looked at Hermione who had come to the same conclusion. This was going to be another challenging year.


End file.
